Rise of Arsenal: Year One
by Victory Goddess
Summary: In the aftermath of Oliver Queen's death, Roy Harper must take his place as the hero of Starling City. However, this life isn't an easy one. After a fatal experience, Roy must prepare himself and endure as he undergoes a journey that shapes him to become the fully fledged hero, Arsenal.
1. Chapter 1

**_STARLING NEEDS A HERO_**

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><p>It had been two weeks since Oliver left to confront Ra's al Ghul at Nanda Parbat. Roy kept remembering the last time he spoke to Oliver. He was praying that Oliver wasn't dead but it seemed likely as each day passed. It didn't help that Christmas was around the corner.<p>

The city looked jubilant and lively with the Christmas lights and decorations. The night was young. A bit of crime fighting would get rid of the stress that plagued him. He wasn't the Verdant assistant manager, Roy Harper; now, he was Arsenal, the red clad sidekick of the Arrow.

Arsenal then jumped off the roof of the building to the roof of a lower building. He comfortably jumped to the ground in an alley. He got on his motorcycle and rode off into the streets. Thankfully, he wasn't in the main hub, the life of the city.

He expertly maneuvered past the few cars that were driving past. As Arsenal passed the cars, he accelerated.

"_There have been many mentions and sightings of the rising underworld figure, Daniel Brickwell, better known as Brick. He does his deals at Starling Docks; perhaps, you should go there first to check,_" Felicity spoke to Roy via his comm.

"_Sounds like he's taking Count Vertigo's place._"

"_Count Vertigo?" _Felicity questioned, clearly amused. "_I thought it was just the Count._"

Felicity was scrolling through police records and reports of Brick. She shivered at the sight of him; he was inhumanely tall and his facial expression was enough to send one shivering. He was furious.

John Diggle stood beside Felicity, looking over the records of Brick.

"_Naming the baddies like __Cisco Ramon does in Central City is rather catchy,_" Arsenal smiled, as he slowed down in front of traffic lights.

"_Do you need backup Roy?_" Diggle asked; he knew the young man hadn't been the same since Oliver disappeared.

Diggle understood Roy's loyalty toward Oliver. Oliver had faith in Roy when no one else had, particularly when Roy was induced with Mirakuru.

"_I'll be fine._"

Felicity looked at John and nodded. He'd be fine. They shouldn't worry too much and besides, this could relax the tension of Oliver's absence.

As soon as the lights turned green, Arsenal immediately accelerated. He swiftly drove past other cars but was careful not to go too fast because of the police.

As Arsenal approached the docks, the streets became quieter. It was usually busy during the day but now, it seemed like a ghost town. After growing up in the Glades for years and alone, Roy wasn't scared of the dark or silence; he welcomed it.

Arsenal slowed down his motorcycle and carefully observed his surroundings. It was a little lesson he learned from Sara. Arsenal feet his eyes slowly adjust to the darkness. If needed, he had night goggles which fit perfectly with his mask.

He parked the motorcycle at the entrance of the docks, in one of the old warehouses. No one would look for it there. He began to run silently. A breeze blew in his direction.

* * *

><p>"I'm surprised," a stout man with a thick accent said to Brick. "How did you manage to get Vertigo? Isn't the operation still under hiatus since Werner Zytle was murdered by the Arrow."<p>

Brick stood in a shadowed area of the main sector of the docks. The rest of the area was lit up. His lips curved into a sickening sour smile. He darkly laughed, as if he were mocking the man.

The rest of the dealers and men stood by the containment of Vertigo. They looked at Brick.

"I have my ways," Brick shrugged his shoulders. "You shouldn't question them. Plus, it's a time for giving and cheer, isn't it? That's all I intend to do."

The man looked impressed. Brick was rising in the underworld and was becoming the reigning king of the underworld. It was impressive that he rose to the ranks quickly.

"I guess you want something in return," the man scratched his bald head, which shone in the light.

"It is a time of giving," Brick reminded the man, confirming his answer.

"Which means you shouldn't hesitate to give yourself in to the police," an arrow was fired at the stout man's leg.

He fell over, wincing in pain and cursing in a foreign language. Brick looked up and ran to take cover by the containment of Vertigo.

The other took cover by crates and had their guns ready. Arsenal smirked; he could sneak behind them easily. He fired an arrow at the closest thug's shoulder. The other thugs went to the injury man's aid.

A flash of red appeared in the men's vision. Arsenal knocked down a man with his bow and kicked another in the face.

Brick emerged from his hiding spot, impressed.

Arsenal jumped over a thug and twisted his wrist. The thug screamed in pain. Arsenal pushed the thug into another thug. Both of them were knocked out like bowling pins.

As Arsenal turned around, he grabbed an arrow from his quiver and had it ready against his bow.

In front of him was the hulking and intimidating figure of Brick. Brick grinned sadistically. Arsenal felt short.

"The Arrow's sidekick, huh?" Brick sneered, observing Arsenal and he seemed disappointed. "I'd stand down before you get hurt son."

"I'm no sidekick," Arsenal retorted, annoyed. "I just took out all your guys on my own."

"I'm not as stupid as them."

Brick clenched his fist. Arsenal fired an arrow. It struck Brick in the shoulder. He grinned and took the arrow out, like it was nothing. He didn't cry or scream, he was unfazed. Arsenal's eyes widened in shock.

"Want to know why they call me Brick?"

Arsenal clutched his bow and stood in a fighting stance. He kept a careful eye on Brick.

"It's because I've taken many bullets and survived."

Brick quickly charged and Arsenal jumped over him. Brick turned around, grabbing Arsenal's bow as Arsenal was about to hit him in the head. Brick broke the bow in half. He discarded it. He clenched his fist and packed it at Arsenal's face. Arsenal dodged the lethal punch and attempted a kick at Brick's side. Brick remained rigid and Arsenal felt an explosion of pain in his foot.

Close combat wouldn't be the key to defeating this guy.

"Too much for you Arrow Junior?" Brick snickered as Arsenal jumped back.

"It's never too much," Arsenal retorted, cockily.

Arsenal sprinted at top speed and Brick charged behind. Arsenal ran toward where a bunch of barrels were tied up.

Just as Arsenal was about to throw his flechette at the rope that held the barrels together, an arrow severed the rope. Arsenal's eyes widened as the barrels tumbled down. He dodged to the side but Brick had just caught up to him. He got hit by the barrels and fell to the ground with a loud, dull thud.

In the nearby distance, police sirens were screeching. On the top of the containment crates, Arsenal saw a silhouette peering down at him before leaving. Arsenal climbed the crates and when he reached the top, he ran after the figure.

Whoever it was, waited for him. His eyes widened in shock.

"Malcolm Merlyn?" Arsenal voiced his disbelief, he held his flechette, ready to throw when necessary.

"I've only come to deliver you news, which you need to be alive to hear," the Dark Archer sardonically spoke with a tint of amusement.

"Why would I believe you?" Arsenal's tone was venomous.

"Because it regards Oliver Queen."

Arsenal's blood turned to ice. The Dark Archer sounded serious for once but he may have just been a good actor.

"Spit it out," Arsenal glared daggers.

The Dark Archer cleared his throat, as if he were rehearsing a monologue.

"Oliver Queen is dead."

"How would you know?"

The Archer withdrew his phone and showed Arsenal the duel against Oliver and Ra's. He zoomed in when Oliver got stabbed by Ra's and was sent plunging down the mountain.

"N-No...that's impossible," Arsenal felt the anger in his voice but it was shaky.

It couldn't be. It was impossible.

"I have numerous contacts," the Dark Archer answered. "I only thought it seemed fitting to tell you since Thea saw something in you."

Arsenal was at a loss of words.

* * *

><p>Felicity was monitoring the city's security system. Diggle was training by punching a boxng bag.<p>

Arsenal entered the Foundry, hood down and eyes miles away. Felicity swiveled her chair to face Roy while Diggle stopped punching.

"Everything alright Roy?" Felicity asked concerned as Diggle came over to join their conversation.

Roy blinked his eyes.

"No," Roy was always honest with Felicity because she was an easy person to approach, unlike Oliver sometimes.

"Roy, we know that Oliver hasn't returned yet but we need to keep faith in him," Diggle spoke, with his fatherly tone that he used to speak when Roy was troubled.

"Oliver's dead!" Roy yelled.

Felicity's eyes widened behind her glasses and Diggle looked in disbelief.

"T-That can't be," Felicity felt tears form in her eyes but she refused to cry.

"Malcolm Merlyn showed me the video. Ra's al Ghul stabbed him and sent him hurdling down the mountain."

"Video?" Diggle questioned, clearly upset as well.

"He has contacts and kind of helped me earlier as well as delivering the news in person."

Felicity was at a loss of words. Roy and Diggle looked at her sadly.

"We can't keep doing this without Oliver," she stated firmly. "The city won't be the same without him."

"I can take Oliver's place," Roy stated. "I've been trained-"

"You're nowhere near Oliver's level," Diggle reminded Roy. "You can be quite brash and reckless. You almost got yourself ended tonight if Malcolm Merlyn hadn't interfered."

Diggle saw potential in Roy but his recklessness would end his vigilante career. Right now, no one else didn't need to die.

"Maybe, fighting is getting too dangerous. First, Sara's gone...now, Oliver," the tears fell from Felicity's eyes.

Oliver said he would return. He said he loved her. Her heart broke in two. She couldn't take it. Her friend and the man who loved her were both gone, buried in the ground.

"We can't give up," Roy said. "We won't. We have to protect Starling," Roy raised his voice.

"Not if it's suicide and means that we all die. Oliver was the best fighter and protected all of us. We're powerless without him," Diggle spoke.

Roy was furious. He stormed to the change room, grabbing his normal clothes along the way.

* * *

><p>Thea was keeping a close eye on Verdant. The club was in full swing. The new DJ, Chase, was well liked and he knew his moves. Some people were on the dance floor, dancing away while others were chatting and drinking. Thea was standing by the bar, serving her customers.<p>

Her mobile began ringing. Instantly, Thea answered it and walked to the back of Verdant.

"Hey Dad," she said; she was used to it now.

"Thea, I'm sorry to say...but...Oliver is dead."

Thea's eyes widened in shock. She held the phone closer to her ear. She felt as if she lost her voice, stunned into silence. Thea's hand shook slightly as her felt a lump form in her throat.

"H-How?" Thea found her voice, sounding slightly shaky as she clutched the phone to carefully hear Malcolm's next words.

"It was a car accident," Malcolm was outside the SCPD, watching Oliver's dead body as the police took it to the morgue. "The police never got the driver responsible."

Papparazzi clouded the SCPD, taking pictures and asking questions to the police. Malcolm smirked for a brief second.

* * *

><p><em>"So, you must be the infamous Amanda Waller, in charge of A.R.G.U.S and the research facility, CADMUS," Malcolm was at his apartment serving his guest, Amanda Waller.<em>

_Waller rejected the glass of wine. She sat down on the couch, looking over the view of Starling City_

_"I thought you dragged me here about business instead of questioning my identity," Amanda answered, cynically._

_"Oliver Queen was killed by Ra's al Ghul in Nanda Parbat a couple of days ago. I've heard CADMUS is a research facility for cloning technology. We need to make it official that Oliver Queen is truly dead to the world without using his actual body."_

_"I see," Amanda Waller replied. "Oliver has quite a few unexplainable attributes such as his Bratva tattoo and scars. The police and authorities would recognize these attributes. His cause of death would also be unusual to the police, it's best they don't investigate the League of Assassins."_

_"Grow the clone quickly and prepare him. Then kill him in a car accident. Not much questions will be asked."_

_Amanda Waller and Malcolm Merlyn then exchanged a handshake._

* * *

><p>Thea felt the tears run down her eyes. She ended the phone call but Malcolm understood her reaction. It was how he acted after Rebecca's murder. The pain, the sorrow, the grief, the sadness, the realization that their loved one would never come back...it hurt.<p>

"Everything alright Thea?" Thea swiveled around to see Roy.

"Oliver just died in a car accident," she tried to be strong as she bit her lip.

Roy hugged her. He immediately knew Malcolm had lied to her and it looked like he did a pretty damn good job of it.

Chase came around the corner. Roy broke the hug and looked at the two awkwardly. He knew they were seeing each other.

"You okay Thea?" Chase asked, shocked seeing the tears on her face.

"My brother just died in a car accident," she began to weep.

"It's okay," Chase told her, giving her a hug and a kiss.

At the kiss, Roy walked away and back into the hype of the club. Chase didn't know Oliver or Thea for as long as he did. Roy felt hurt.

No one seemed to notice as Roy entered the main hub of the club. It was like he was never there. The dancing was in full swing, the floor crowded. Roy looked out, it felt like looking out to an abyss of nothingness.

He felt so alone. Oliver understood because he was out there too, fighting. Diggle assisted them when necessary but he didn't get it. Felicity was behind the computers, not physically risking her life. Yet, Diggle and Felicity thought that the best way was to stop fighting. Roy looked out at the colorful disco lights. He would not stop fighting, no matter the cost.

* * *

><p>Felicity stood up from her chair. Diggle had already left. Felicity sighed. It was the only way. Oliver wouldn't have wanted them to go on their own, it was dangerous. He preferred for them to live than die. The police coukd take care of oroblems, they were becoming more competent. She shut the computers down. Then the lights. She looked at Oliver's spare Arrow costume, before the light in the case shut down.<p>

She grabbed her phone and rang Ray Palmer.

The Arrow wouldn't get mourned like he deserved. Instead, he'd fade from media, being eventually forgotten. Not many would mourn Oliver Queen either.

* * *

><p>Diggle felt lost without a cause to fight, a leader to lead. He had Lyla and Sara; he couldn't afford to die because they needed him. Oliver understood that and even attempted to retire Diggle. Diggle now understood why Oliver did that. The Canary was gone, now the Arrow. It was simply getting too dangerous. Although Diggle could fight, he didn't have Oliver or Sara's training and expertise.<p>

He looked down at baby Sara, who cried with delight. She deserved to grow up with a father.

Lyla entered the room and hugged Diggle.

"I heard the news," she whispered. "I know you're good friends with Queen."

"How do you know Oliver died?" Diggle didn't expect her knowing that.

"It's on the news Johnny. He was killed in a car crash and the driver responsible wasn't caught."

Diggle's blood froze. He knew it was a lie. A convincing one nonetheless but it was for the better or others would start questioning what happened to the ex billionaire. Now, how would the Arrow's absence be explained?

* * *

><p>After everyone left the Verdant, Roy pretended he was cleaning up. He told Thea he had it under control and that she could go home.<p>

After the last of the mess was cleaned, Roy locked the club up. Next, he went downstairs to the Foundry.

It was dark and he immediately flicked the light switch on. He only saw the Arsenal suit. It wasn't as if he suffered really serious injuries. Roy felt this was the only way to do good in the city. As Roy Harper, he was an insignificant street kid. As Arsenal, he was a hero. Many of Starling's citizens relied on the Arrow; their hope couldn't go away and it didn't deserve to.

He grabbed his spare bow.

* * *

><p>Malcolm noticed Thea's carelessness and anger with each strike as they fought, sword by sword. She insisted on practicing but was a complete mess. Every lesson was an opportunity to learn.<p>

"Focus Thea," he gently reminded her, straightening her technique.

"I am," she angrily muttered back; at that instant, he saw a lot of himself in Thea, particularly the anger and sadness of losing a family member.

"You'll find justice for who was responsible," Malcolm assured her, feeling slightly guilty of lying to her but it was necessary because she didn't know about Oliver's double life. "Now, you mustn't let Oliver's death cloud your judgement. Bury your knowledge of what has happened and focus on this fight. Breathe slowly, you can do it."

Thea nodded and applied his instruction. She breathed in slowy and out. She was calm, burying her anger.

* * *

><p>"I don't understand," Ray scratched his head. "I'm trying to help the people of this city and you're saying I shouldn't do that."<p>

Felictiy shook her head, feeling the sadness of losing Oliver. Felicity stood outside Ray's office in Palmer Technologies. Ray had finished making a few business calls. He didn't expect Felicity to come after hours.

"I'm saying you shouldn't risk your life; the police have gotten better under Captain Lance's instruction," Felicity answered.

"I appreciate your concern Miss Smoak-"

Felicity shut him up with a kiss to the lip. Ray didn't expect that and was clearly shocked.

"Well," he was abashed. "I didn't know you really cared."

* * *

><p>From the police radio, Arsenal learned that Brick had escaped. It was time to catch this man and lock him up in Iron Heights once and for all.<p>

The police were also on the trail for Brick. Reports were saying that he was venturing to one of the old Queen Consolidated buildings, where all the chemical projects were located. The place was a mess and hadn't been touched in years.

When Arsenal arrived, police cars surrounded the crumbled old building. Lights were flashing and sirens were ringing. The police stood by the safety of their cars. Captain Lance was at the front. Arsenal parked his motorcycle by another building. He managed to sneak right behind Captain Lance.

"Hello Captain," Arsenal's voice modulator activated.

Captain Lance almost jumped in surprise and was relieved to see Arsenal.

"Good to see you kid, but where's the Arrow?"

"He's taking care of something else," Arsenal lied. "As a result, it's just me here tonight."

"Brick's taken a hostage," Lance was worried as he looked out at the old building. "We have to make a move soon."

"I'll handle it."

Arsenal ran toward the behind of the building. He remembered sneaking inside it as a kid.

* * *

><p>Brick looked out of the window, facing the police cars below. The window was dirtied so the lights were blurred. Brick was frustrated and the hostage was more frustrating.<p>

"You're stupid for going up against the police," the hostage was a young woman, known as Sin.

Although, she wasn't begging for her life which was refreshing.

"This will be over quickly," Brick angrily hissed.

"The Arrow or the Canary will get you."

"No one has seen them in weeks."

Sin's face paled. She seemed a bit scared at the realization. Brick smirked with satisfaction; the only person really posing a threat was the kid the Arrow hung out with, the one in red.

Brick continued to look outside. Suddenly, it grew a bit too quiet. Brick turned around where Sin was tied up. She was gone.

An arrow shot past Brick, grazing his cheek. Brick turned to the right, receiving a kick in the face from Arsenal. In retaliation, Brick grabbed Arsenal's leg and hurled him across the room.

Brick began to charge toward Arsenal. Arsenal had barely gotten up when the frail floor he was standing on began to give in to pressure. He felt himself free fall and Brick wasn't too far behind. Arsenal withdrew an arrow from his quiver and fired it up at the ceiling. The head of the arrow attached to the ceiling. The arrow was connected to a very strong rope which Arsenal held on for his life. Brick then grabbed Arsenal's leg.

"Let go!" Arsenal felt the pressure of Brick's weight and strength against his own, Arsenal was desperately trying to wriggle free from Brick's monster grip. "The rope can't hold both of us."

The rope began to slowly snap.

Arsenal and Brick fell down. Brick fell into a vat of chemicals, he quickly resurfaced while Arsenal hit the floor. Brick withdrew a remote. He grinned maliciously. There was only a dim light, otherwise it was completely dark.

"Don't move boy," he was dripping with chemicals of some sort. "Otherwise this whole place will blow. Originally, it was for the police but I wouldn't mind if you were taken out too."

Arsenal quickly fired an arrow at the remote. It dropped out of Brick's hand, disappearing into the darkness.

"You'll pay for that boy!"

Arsenal readied himself into a fighting stance before moving forward. Brick was more than ready for the challenge. Brick punched at Arsenal but he ducked and sweep kicked the bigger man. As Arsenal was about to finish Brick, Brick grabbed Arsenal's leg. Arsenal shook loose from Brick's grip, unknowingly kicking the remote further away. As he heard it move, he realized his mistake. Arsenal was glad that he didn't press the button by mistake.

Brick's strikes were quicker; a few sloppy punches followed by a powerful kick. Arsenal jumped back, firing an arrow. Brick caught the arrow and broke it.

"I made sure I was prepared," Brick stated at Arsenal's surprise, the latter then gritted his teeth.

Arsenal suddenly jumped forward. He punched, aiming for Brick's forehead. Brick fell back. He grabbed Arsenal by the chest, dragging him down too. Arsenal rolled over to the side. Brick ran over to Arsenal, delivering a roundhouse kick. Arsenal dodged it but as Brick's foot landed, his foot landed on an object.

The remote.

Brick realized his mistake but shrugged.

"So, we all get blown away; I don't mind," he sadistically grinned as Arsenal had a pure expression of panic.

* * *

><p>Captain Lance was relieved when he saw Sin escape from the old building. She stood by the police cars, waiting for either Brick or Arsenal to come out. Lance hoped it wasn't necessary.<p>

Minutes later, the building violently exploded, sending debris everywhere. The police ducked under the shelter provided by the cars. The darkness was briefly replaced with light, licking flames of destruction.

Sin and Lance slowly stood up. A fire was purging and stomping on the remains of the building.

"Oh God," Lance whispered, hoping Arsenal was alright.

Sin looked at Lance, hoping the hero would emerge from the ashes. Nothing. Other police officers stood up. They all looked at each other uncertainly.

"Do we scour the area for Brick and Arsenal, Captain?"

"Go," Lance shook his head, he was still stunned.

Officers began running to the site. One of the officers had called the fire department. It was chaos. Sirens were blaring. People who lived nearby began to flock around the scene.

* * *

><p>Darkness.<p>

Roy Harper's eyes slowly opened. He felt disorientated. He could hardly see his surroundings. His mind was blurred due to what happened earlier. Physically, he felt sore and could hardly move. He was exhausted.

Clearly, someone was looking down at Roy, waiting for him to fully awaken.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**This is a what if fanfic, set two weeks after "The Climb". Although Roy would take Oliver's place fighting crime, to me he hasn't fully developed or honed his skills. It's alright if he's against street thugs but what about opponents like Malcolm Merlyn or Slade Wilson? I don't know about anyone else but there are heaps of Olicity fics; I like them but I'm sure there are other characters and plots that can be written here on this fandom.**

**Each hero has a journey and I am delving into Roy's journey. Pretty much, Oliver is DEAD. He will be mentioned and there might be flashbacks but that's about it. It's a Roy centric story although I'll be introducing DC characters that haven't previously appeared in the show. **

**Main pairing: Roy/? (you can guess who in reviews)**

**Thank you for taking the time to read the chapter and author's note. Have a nice day! See you next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2: A New Beginning

_**A NEW BEGINNING**_

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><p><em><strong>A few days later<strong>_

It rained lightly. The sky was grey, symbolizing the gloom felt in today. It was slightly cold, the attendants of this grim day wore jackets and jumpers to keep warm.

Thea was in a black dress, tears falling down her eyes. She looked down at Oliver in his coffin, his eyes were peacefully closed. She had lost her mother six months earlier now her brother was gone too.

Diggle and Felicity stood a few metres behind Thea. They had no idea what was the truth; was Oliver killed at Nanda Parbat by Ra's al Ghul or was he killed in a car accident. Either way, it was Oliver's dead body.

"Thanks for coming here Mr Diggle and Miss Smoak," Thea turned to face the two, a grateful but sad smile on her face which was red from the crying. "It means a lot to me."

"Oliver was our friend Thea," Diggle explained, saddened that his friend was gone. "Of course, we'd be here.

Felicity nodded in agreement, blowing her nose.

"We better go outside so the coffin can be taken out," Felicity told Diggle and Thea.

Thea shared a last look at her deceased brother. He was peacefully preserved, forwever young.

"Goodbye Ollie," she whispered before leaving outside, watching the coffin as she walked away.

Lyla and Ray were outside. Ray knew of Felicity's friendship with Oliver and respected it. He was in his usual suit. Lyla was in a black dress, her hair was neatly brushed. She was holding baby Sara. The child looked clueless. It was too early to introduce her to a funeral.

Laurel was also there. When she had heard the news of Oliver's murder, she had been impacted. Her sister was gone and now Oliver. Despite all those times she wished he were dead, she really regretted it now. Her eyes displayed her regret. Yes, he had redeemed himself. There were the good times before Lian Yu, before Sara decided to go away with him.

When Thea came out, Laurel hugged the girl that she had seen as a younger sister. They all had each other. They would find justice and made sure the murderers paid for what they had done.

The group slowly walked to where Oliver's new grave was marked. The tombstone was there, next to Tommy Merlyn's. Both friends were in heaven together, drinking and laughing, fully enjoying youth. For Thea, both of her brothers were buried next to each other, it felt right. The brothers that had chased her around, calling her Speedy and being the ones who she ultimately trusted. Oliver cared when their parents didn't; he could read her like an open book and understand. He cared and Thea wished that she had been a better sister to him; she wished that she told him the truth about Malcolm Merlyn and how she really felt.

The people who carried the coffin exited the building. As Felicity saw the coffin carriers walk by, she couldn't believe the man who loved her would be buried six feet under. All the laughs, the secrets, the heroics they had done for the city...those good times were over. She remembered how they met and how he was such a terrible liar but he acknowledged her existence and was friendly. She briefly smiled at the memory of his terrible lies.

The loss felt like he lost a brother, a soldier in a horrendous war. Diggle never expected to get close to Queen at all; he seemed like an immature and self absorbed brat. No, that was the act. He was a warrior, a hero. Diggle never expected to be friends with Oliver Quedn but he did. They watc

* * *

><p>hed out for each other, their loyalty was fierce. Although Oliver was the brawn, Diggle helped serve as his conscience, his logicality and humanity. They were opposite sides on the same coin.<p>

Lyla held Diggle's hand, everything would be okay. It would work out fine. Lyla didn't Oliver or who he was like as the Arrow. As the Arrow, he had done a lot of good in the city, earning Lyla's respect. To her, Oliver Queen was a man that she greatly respected, mourning the hero that he had become.

Ray didn't think much of Queen because he didn't know him. Although, the man did not deserve to die. It was very tragic. Felicity silently wept _and_ Ray held her hand.

It would be okay.

* * *

><p>The coffin carriers carefully placed the coffin in the pre dug ground. They grabbed the shovel and began to bury the coffin. Thea began to really cry. The reality had sunk in; she hoped it was a nightmare that she would <em>wake<em> up from. Felicity bowed her head down and leaned against Ray. Diggle tried to remain strong, Lyla standing beside him. Tears had fallen out of Laurel's eyes too, she gripped the flowers she was holding even tighter.

The diggers continued to pile the dirt on top of the coffin. When they had finished, Thea came by first with her flowers. She laid them in front of the tombstone.

"Goodbye Ollie," she whispered, looking at the tombstone while her tears fell onto the grass. "Rest in peace."

* * *

><p><em><strong>An unspecified amount of time later<strong>_

When Roy fully gained consciousness, he was in a small room of some sort. He felt claustrophobic. He blinked a couple of times due to the bright light emitting in front of his eyes. He groggily sat up and stretched his arms.

He looked down at himself. He was wearing a coloured jumpsuit. He panicked. Who found him? What was this place?

Then he noticed the person standing by the doorway with a grim expression on their face, watching him.

"Amanda Waller?" Roy was surprised; since when did A.R.G.U.S deal with rescuing people, or at least in his favor.

Her glare and iron will was quite strong. She was wearing a midnight blue dress and wearing her trademark high heels.

"Good morning Mr Harper," Amanda's voice was icy snd strict, right down to business. "Welcome to A.R.G.U.S."

"What are you on about?" Roy asked, clearly confused.

"You clearly don't have enough experience to defend your city," Amanda sighed.

"Then why bother?" There seemed to be a catch for Amanda and he didn't doubt that at all.

"Like Mr Queen, you have potential and I would hate to see that wasted away. As cruel as I think you may be, I'm only doing everything for the best. Now, stand up. I'll have to show you where to go."

Amanda turned around and opened the door to exit the room. Roy scrambled from the bed and stood up. He followed Amanda out of the room. He found himself in a large neon lit hallway. The lighting stretched across the ceiling, white in colour. The walls of the hallway were painted a turquoise colour.

"So, this is the A.R.G.U.S building?" Roy didn't particularly care but wanted to get out of here.

Ever since, Amanda Waller was more than willing to let Starling City be destroyed in order to kill Slade Wilson and his army, Roy didn't fancy being near her or A.R.G.U.S in general although Lyla was genuinely kind.

"Mr Harper, we're not at the main A.R.G.U.S building. This building is located in a classified area; no one will find you. This is where our recruits live and train until they are fully fledged A.R.G.U.S agents," Amanda answered all of Roy's important questions. "Don't bother trying to escape."

She began to walk, heels clicking on the ground. Roy hesitantly followed her. Other recruits were walking by, wearing the same jumpsuits. They stood tall as Amanda walked past them, paying them no attention. Although Waller wasn't on his favorite people list, she commanded an impressive presence.

"How long have I been here?" Roy scratched his head.

"Well, you missed Christmas and New Year," Amanda answered. "In short, a few weeks."

Roy almost jumped. That seemed so long. In fact, where was everyone? Did they care? Were they looking for him?

Amanda continued to walk, ignoring his shock.

"Wait, what?!"

"You were in an explosion. When you were brought to me, I got you in one of A.R.G.U.S's hospitals, among the best in the country. The doctors put you in an induced coma. Last night, you began to slowly regain consciousness. You were put in your room and that's about it."

Ananda has stopped walking. They were at the end of the hallway.

"What about Diggle and Felicity? Do they know what's happened?"

"No. For as far as they are concerned, you left to go to Melbourne, Australia. You faced too much here in Starling and they understand why you left," Amanda Waller knew how to be the serpent and slither away so easily without getting caught.

"You bitch!" Roy huffed angrily, holding Waller against the wall. "How could you lie to them?"

"Don't be foolish Mr Harper. Everyone's watching you."

Roy looked around to see some recruits giving him the strangest of looks. He looked down, embarrassed. He let Amanda go. She straightened her dress. Some of the recruits looked away while others slowly kept moving on. Upon looking sternly at the recruits, the recruits immediately were on the move.

"This door," Waller indicated to her left. "Is the mess hall. This is where you eat and drink only. I'll let you eat something. Afterwards, I'll give you more information."

Amanda walked away. Roy opened the door to the mess hall. There were three televisions in the hall; one was on the left, one was on the right and one was in the centre. It seemed that Roy was a bit late fir breakfast. The mess hall was vast, cluttered with many tables but it was rather empty. A few seats were occupied. A few recruits were talking to each other while some others sat alone. Everyone wore the same type of jumpsuit but in different colours. It seemed A.R.G.U.S liked variety and were trying to distinguish themselves from a prison. The news was on television, chattering away.

"Are you hungry boy?" an accented voice yelled from the right hand side of the room.

Roy turned his neck around. He was face to face with the chef. He had a serious expression and Roy somehow knew it'd be foolish to mess with him.

"Sorry, I wasn't sure where to go," Roy found his voice, as he began to walk toward were the chef was standing by the food.

As Roy got closer, he saw the variety of food. This didn't seem so bad but he wasn't meant to be here. He had to get back home somehow. He would have to think of it later. For now, he would have to play along with Amanda's plan and hopefully be the one to fool her.

* * *

><p>Roy was the last person to leave the mess hall. The chef ordered him to quickly leave so he could clean up. That wouldn't be a fun job at all.<p>

Amanda Waller was waiting outside for him. She had her arms folded, waiting patiently. Roy wondered how she knew to come at that precise time. As he exited the mess hall, he noticed caaround on the ceiling. He shivered at the thought of being constantly watched, it disturbed him greatly.

"I'm not going to be in charge of your training," Waller spoke.

"Who is?"

"We'll be meeting your handler at one of the training rooms," Amanda was speaking as if she knew something that Roy didn't. "Come on Mr Harper."

"Just to let you know," Roy began to say as he began walking. "Mr Harper was my father."

"I know," Amanda whispered with a sigh.

Roy frowned but didn't ask anything else, he only barely heard the whisper. The duo arrived at a lift. Amanda pressed the button to go up.

"This is Waller," she spoke into an intercom that appeared under the lift's up and down buttons. "I request a lift up immediately."

The intercom recoiled back into the wall. The doors to the lift immediately opened. Amanda entered the lift. Roy followed. The doors immediately closed behind Roy. Seconds later, the lift went up a couple of floors. The doors opened and Roy faced a different floor.

There were no rooms but a large hall. It was a lot quieter. The walls were painted a darker shade. There was the A.R.G.U.S logo on the walls.

Amanda walked to the first seen door on the left. She opened it and coaxed Roy to go inside.

The room was a training room. In the centre, a man sat meditating. His eyes were closed. He had a messy mop of red hair on his head. He sat cross legged. A desk was in the corner of the room, a lone candle burning away.

"I'm sure you're capable of manners Waller," the man spoke calmly and serenely, his eyes remained closed.

Roy had to agree with the man's point.

"I have a new student for you," Waller retorted, unfazed by the man's calm outspoken nature.

The man smiled a wry smile. He remained his position on the ground. Roy raised an eye at this guy. He seemed very unusual.

"You seem to like giving them to me, don't you?"

"This young man is an exceptional case," Waller had approached closer to the man and he opened an eye, a dark shade of blue.

The man looked at Roy, as he opened his other eye. He stood up, far more taller than Amanda herself. Heck, this man was even taller than Roy. He looked ragged, like a warrior who had fought and witnessed a plethora of battles.

"This is Richard Drakunovski, better known as Richard Dragon," Amanda introduced the man to Roy. "He's one of our best hand to hand combatants and martial artists in A.R.G.U.S and possibly the world."

Impressive, Roy thought.

"Richard, this is Roy Harper, who is one of the vigilantes from Starling City."

"Why bring him as a student to me Waller? Doesn't he have a teacher?" Richard asked curiously; it was obvious he was a little impressed with his latests student's record.

"His teacher is dead," Amanda's tone was icy and she seemed to mock Richard Dragon's terminology.

Richard nodded understandingly. He knew not to get cocky with the Wall.

"You know what to do from here," Amanda whispered to Richard, who nodded. "Inform me of his progress."

Amanda left and Roy watched her go. Roy looked back at Dragon. He respectfully bowed to Roy before standing in a fighting stance, fists up ready and prepared.

"What are you doing?" Roy questioned, he knew what Richard was doing but it was rather the why.

"I must see what type of fighter you are," Richard answered wisely, understanding the purpose of the question. "I need to see your strengths and weaknesses, important regarding the fact that you had a previous teacher. If I don't know them, I cannot help you and therefore this training is futile and a waste of time. It's best to not anger Amanda Waller."

It made perfect sense. It had been a few weeks but it didn't feel like that to Roy. He bowed back to Richard and held his guard up. Dragon immediately lunged toward Roy by sliding underneath him.

"Do not always wait for your opponent to strike, otherwise they'll be anticipating you," Richard pointed out as Roy narrowly jumped out of the way.

Roy nodded. He front kicked Dragon, aiming for his solar plexus. Dragon took hold of his leg and brought Roy to the floor.

Roy struggled against Richard's stronger and more dominant grip. Roy head butted back at Dragon's face, allowing him to squirm and escape.

Roy aimed a few punches around Dragon's face but he quickly expertly blocked them, using a variety of techniques that Roy had never seen before during his tutelage under Oliver. Richard simply smirked a little at Roy's surprise of his strikes. Maybe Waller wasn't joking around.

Roy punched at Richard's solar plexus but he grabbed Roy's fist and began to twist it, having a tight grip on it.

"Owww," Roy gritted his teeth in pain, never feeling the pain of something like this before.

However, Dragon let go of Roy's fist. Roy remembered that Dragon was looking for his strengths and weaknesses; it wasn't an actual fight.

"It's not over yet Mr Harper," Richard reminded him; his tone was kind, fatherly like and full of respect...as if he just didn't painfully twist Roy's fist.

"Just call me Roy."

Roy roundhouse kicked Dragon but he darted to the side. Dragon performed an open hand strike, aiming at Roy's jaw. Roy stumbled upon feeling the precision of the strike. Richard roundhouse kicked Roy at several different angles, precise in where to hit him; his weak spots. Roy collapsed on his knees, shaky.

Dragon was about to finish him off with a punch to the forehead but Roy ducked.

"Up," Richard Dragon offered his hand to Roy to help him up.

Roy looked at the hand hesitantly. Richard warmly smiled.

"It'd be dishonorable if I used that opportunity to knock you over," he spoke, becoming Roy to accept his offer of help.

"What were some of those moves?" Roy asked in amazement.

"You have courage and will," Richard answered, impressed with those attributes. "However, you lack technique and experience; something that can be resolved with time."

"What's your experience then?"

"I've been fighting ever since I was a young boy and to this day, I still continue to refine and practice my techniques," Richard was serious. "You must be patient and dedicated if you wish to get far; I've seen many try and fail due to a lack of patience and a lack of genuine dedication. Are you really ready?"

Roy nodded, understanding. One day, he would return to Starling as a better fighter, as a better hero. Richard Dragon seemed to have an understanding better than Waller, a better knowledge.

"Yes, I am," Roy thought of his friends back home and Oliver; he would do this for them.

"Welcome to A.R.G.U.S Roy."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**Yes, I decided to update immediately. Thank you guys so much for your tremendous, wonderful and appreciated feedback. Two thumbs way up! A big thanks to all favorites, followers and reviewers. It means a lot when you know someone's reading your work.**

**Now a little info: **

**Richard Drakunovski/Richard Dragon is a character from DC Comics. He's proclaimed as one of the best martial artists in the DC Universe alongside Batman and Lady Shiva. If Richard was really fighting Roy, I reckon Roy would have lost within his first strike. He even corresponded with Lady Shiva as well; unlike Shiva, he went on to teach others about fighting, owning his own dojo. He notably taught the Question (Victor Sage) and the Huntress (Helena Bertinelli). A major reason why I have used him is because he doesn't really appear in DC media so he doesn't get the recognition. The closest to an appearance he got was that he was mentioned to be an accomplice of Lady Shiva in Batman: Arkham Origins alongside David Cain and Nyssa Raatko.**

**I decided that Roy's journey would start with A.R.G.U.S because when he became Arsenal in the comics, he also became a government agent. I'm basically referencing his occupation in the comics.**

**I've got a main storyline involving the A.R.G.U.S section of Roy's journey and it was briefly mentioned in the last chapter.**

**Many of you would probably think Lyla might discover Roy in A.R.G.U.S but she isn't involved with the recruits at all and remember, Amanda Waller is pretty sneaky and always has a trick up her sleeve. When Oliver was with A.R.G.U.S, he didn't change his name.**

**I hoped the funeral scene wasn't cliche; I like to delve into character's emotions and what they are feeling.**

**To summaries, this chapter is establishing Roy's beginning to his journey. I'm hoping the next few chapters will be more exciting to write. In the very episode of Arrow, the flashbacks detailed Oliver getting shipwrecked and arriving at Lian Yu. It's not particularly exciting but it establishes a base which I've hopefully achieved well.**

**I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Have a good day!**


	3. Chapter 3: Training

**_TRAINING_**

* * *

><p>Amanda Waller had taken more precautions. Roy didn't stay at the dormitory with the other recruits. He had to live with Richard Dragon. Unfortunately, what Amanda Waller says is what always goes.<p>

After the brief training session, the duo left to go to Richard's house so Roy would know what his living arrangements were going to be like. Dragon lived in the far outskirts of the city, nowhere near the hub of the city. It didn't matter now since no one was looking for him. He felt stumped at that fact; he was practically trapped and when he needed help, it was right there and no one would be able to come to his aid.

As soon as Roy got out of Richard's car, he put on his hoodie and looked out to Richard's house. It seemed broke and in poor condition but larger than the other houses in the neighbourhood. Richard locked the car and stood next to Roy, holding a briefcase.

"It's not much," Dragon shrugged his shoulders at the unkempt appearance of the house. "However, it'll serve its purpose. We'll be doing some of our training here as well."

Roy raised an eye as Richard walked toward the door. He slowly followed, observing his surroundings. Dragon unlocked the door and beckoned for Roy to come inside. Roy followed him inside.

A checkered rug was rolled out on the floor. On the walls were posters from old Kung Fu movies. A piece of Japanese calligraphy hung at the end of the hallway. On the right, there was a staircase, cascading up into the unknown. Richard began to walk up the stairs. Roy followed him, wondering what was there. It wasn't your typical house but Roy couldn't judge since he lived in a small run down place in the Glades, well he used to live there.

What awaited Roy was a large dark space. Dragon turned on the lights, revealing the room was empty. On the right, targets were present on the wall. Richard opened the briefcase and withdrew a collapsible bow. What remained in the briefcase were a few arrows.

"I suppose you would still like to practice your archery," Richard passed the bow to Roy, who was stunned to see it. "I'm afraid I cannot help you since archery isn't my specialty."

"Thanks," Roy looked at the bow; it was an upgraded version of his previous one and he liked it.

"However, we must begin our training, so please put the bow back in the case and leave that by the side of the room," Richard passed the case to Roy, then immediately began his focus.

When it came to training, Oliver was more impulsive and as brash as Roy. Dragon seemed to have an aged wisdom surrounding him but he didn't look too old. The man was no doubt an enigma.

Roy nodded and placed the bow in the case and laid it by the side of the room. Richard sat on the floor, cross legged. He breathed in slowly and calmly, closing his eyes. Roy hesitantly sat on the ground in the same position.

"I won't even try to fill in the gaps that your teacher didn't fill," Richard spoke. "We shall start fresh but first we must get to basics."

"Go on," Roy nodded.

"In our fight, I also noticed that you're quite impulsive, doing the first thing you can think of. Unfortunately, that doesn't work in every fight; you need to be more flexible in your thinking as well as your techniques, which is why our first lesson is meditation and focus."

Roy frowned. He sighed at doing this kind of stuff again. He didn't really see the point; it felt slow and he felt even more inpatient and agitated.

"I don't think this is necessary-"

"Your mentor has just passed away; you're not thinking clearly, you're not focused. If you're not focused, your enemies will have an advantage over you, which was clearly demonstrated in your last stunt."

Roy didn't say anything else, a bit embarrassed. Dragon's point made sense.

"Close your eyes," the master martial artist instructed.

Roy closed his eyes, seeing only the darkness.

"Breathe in, slowly."

Roy took a deep breath. He felt as if he held his breath to go for a dive. Now, he felt as if he was in the cold embrace of the water, only aware of the silence that had befallen.

"Clear what plagues your mind. Think of other things, positive influences."

Images flashed through Roy's mind. He remembered when Oliver shook his hand for the first time and then they became official partners in the hero business. Oliver had saved Roy from himself. The hallucination of him throwing the arrows that murdered Sara sent a chill down his spine. Roy tensed. The look of hurt and betrayal was written over Thea's face as she caught him kissing another girl; him doing what was necessary to keep Thea away from the danger that was himself, the second survivor of Mirakuru.

Visiting these memories were a pain. The Mirakuru was gone, a previous chapter of his life that he would never have to revisit.

"Breathe out, let it go. Remember the positive influences."

Roy breathed out, releasing the tension. This actually worked. He was surprised at himself, his determination.

He remembered working with Sin, catching the bad guys. He remembered his first meeting with the Canary, fighting men who were about to rape a woman. The so called heroics were among the best memories. He remembered meeting Thea for the first time, stealing her wallet.

"Remind yourself that everything will be fine. You can rise from this, don't let the death of one you care about drag you down the abyss, you'll never get anywhere. Rise, come back focused and stronger, do this for yourself."

Oliver Jonas Queen was dead. He wasn't coming back. As the Arrow, he changed the city for the better, rendering hope to those who has none. Although the Arrow was gone, the spirit of him lived within the people who took action for the city.

Roy breathed in and out a few times. He had to fight; he was a born fighter. This city needed him. He had to do what was right but the guilt plagued him. He was an ordinary criminal and recently he had even murdered in cold blood without remorse. His facial expression was one of dismay.

"What plagues you Roy?" Richard thoughtfully asked as Roy opened his eyes, breathing deeply.

"Guilt. I killed a police officer in cold blood and I didn't even care."

Richard wasn't shocked but only gave him a sympathetic look. He understood.

"You are in the past. You must let go and look to the future, look at it like an opportunity to learn. At least, you won't make the same mistake," Richard wasn't fazed by the action Roy committed then but what Roy was currently doing now.

"I'll try," Roy reminded himself that it was the Mirakuru, not him but the guilt was still there, covered.

"Are you ready for combat?"

Richard Dragon stood up. Roy nodded and stood up, ready to fight.

* * *

><p>A sudden storm hit Starling City in the late morning. The clouds had turned into an ugly grey and congregated together. It began to pour heavily. Thunder grumbled. A limousine was driving within the crowded streets, suddenly taking a sharp left turn into the quiet parking lot of the Verdant, which seemed abandoned when no one was clubbing.<p>

"How long will he be?" the driver of the limousine asked his passenger.

"He should be here soon," Thea answered.

The rain pattered against the windows. There was silence as Thea sat patiently. The driver began playing a game on his phone to pass time. Thea was still wearing her black dress from the funeral. She straightened herself to look presentable as she waited.

The door flung open, a powerful gust of wind blew in Thea's face and she felt the cool raindrops against her skin. A man quickly clambered inside the car. He was drenched; his light blue coat was dripping with water, his black shoes left wet prints on the floor of the limousine, his hair was like a wep red mop. The man shook his head and sighed.

The driver looked behind. Thea trusted him; he was rather respectful and wouldn't listen to their conversation.

"If only the weather was a lot better," Thea remarked, unfazed that this man had just clambered inside, unwelcome and unsuspected.

"I agree Miss Queen. Shall we proceed to business?" the man was interested to why Thea persisted they talk about a business offer in person.

"Yes. To remind you, it's Miss Merlyn, now," Thea nodded, sitting up straight. "As you know, my brother was killed in a car accident. I just need some closure to who did it and why. Was it intended or did it just happen? I need answers and I think you're the only one who can get them."

The man tilted his head, clearly interested in the young woman's proposition. It was understandable that Thea wanted answers. To confess, Oliver Queen's murder was a bit unusual with so many questions raised since the police didn't catch the one who was guilty.

"What makes you think I can obtain the answers you wish to acquire?" the man asked curiously.

"I know of your reporting skills Mr Sage, especially since I've seen your talk show. You always want to find the answers, don't you? This could be the case of your life time. If you decide to investigation and discover what exactly happened, I'll pay you handsomely," Thea's expression was solemn, she meant every word.

To Sage, the offer sounded tempting but to be truthful, he wasn't interested in money. He enjoyed picking up cases like this to look into. It was like a little puzzle that needed to fit, when the pieces fit the answers made sense. Also, Oliver Queen was an unusual case. When he returned a couple of years ago, within the sane timeframe he came back, the vigilante, who became known as the Arrow, made his debut. It was either coincidence or there was something else occurring behind the scenes. Sage had to make the connection.

"Miss Merlyn, I'll pick up the case but you don't need to pay me."

"Really?" Thea was skeptical; she had never met a man who refused money. "Anyway, do you have more questions or inquires?"

Sage smiled at the mention of questions. That's what he specialized in but Thea didn't need to know that.

"Well, when I was at the SCPD, reporting Oliver's murder, I saw your father," he grabbed a photo from his pocket and gave it to Thea. It was a photo of Malcolm Merlyn at the SCPD, the night Oliver was murdered.

Thea was in disbelief at the photo. Sage easily read her expression. That seemed unusual too. Wouldn't a man trust his own daughter?

It seemed there were some mysteries regarding the richest families of Starling.

"We're not talking about my father," Thea folded the picture in half and held it in her hands.

"If that's it then Miss Merlyn, I best be on my way to start investigating. We'll be in touch. Until then..."

Sage nodded before opening the door. The storm greeted Sage as he ran through to the nearest cover. After Sage closed the door, Thea looked out of the window. The man seemed suspicious and wouldn't be fooled easily. However, she couldn't believe her father didn't tell her that he was at the SCPD at the night of Oliver's murder. Since when did he care about Oliver?

Sage knew he had a lot of work ahead of him. To start, all he needed was the question.

* * *

><p>Richard was teaching Roy the Japanese martial art known as karate. After karate, Dragon desired to teach kung fu; the art which he was predominantly known for. They were going through techniques. Roy never realized how many types of techniques there were. First off, they went through strikes.<p>

"Above all, the utmost importance is to keep breathing. If you keep breathing, you'll have more energy to execute your techniques," Richard noted.

The first strike was the rising elbow strike. Roy clenched his fist and moved it downwards, his elbow rising up to strike at the chin. Roy then practiced it, using Richard as an example of a real life situation. The breathing made the strike feel more effective, which meant Richard was correct.

"Good," Richard nodded. "Next is short punch."

Dragon demonstrated how to do the punch. He kept his fist by his side, he clenched it and turned it so he could see his thumb and striked forward.

"Remember, to keep your thumb tucked, above the rest of the fingers. You don't want to hurt your thumb."

"I'm guessing that happened to you," Roy began to practice the punch.

"It's happened too many times," his teacher dryly laughed.

Roy executed the punch. Richard nodded for him to practice the strike again. Roy nodded and striked even harder. He used his other arm and began to practice in sync. There was so much Oliver hadn't taught him and he felt behind.

The next set of strikes were slightly harder. They were the open hand strikes and they specifically aimed at the jawbone, striking hard to get an opponent off balance. Roy knew how that felt.

His thumb was underneath all his other fingers, reaching to his last finger. The point was to hit where the thumb would normally be. The only difficulty with the first open hand strike was that Roy couldn't move his arm up unless he thrusted his shoulder forward. Richard reminded him that he would damage his shoulder this way.

Martial arts were far more complex than the movies ever showed. In the movies, the characters were always invincible and made it rather simple.

Don't thrust your shoulder, Roy thought as he practiced the strike, keep your arm slightly bent so I don't hurt it by mistake.

"You move a bit awkwardly," Richard observed. "It wasn't my favorite strike either."

"You used to it to knock my jaw," Roy reminded Dragon, who merely grinned.

"Practice makes perfect," Dragon was a positive teacher who actually cared. He was superior than any teacher he had at school. Dragon wasn't all serious and stiff but he wasn't dumb either.

The next set of techniques were stances. Richard illustrated the importance of maintaining a stance during a fight. You tended to be more focused and ready to dodge or block a strike. Like the strikes, there was a bit of a variety of stances. Richard told Roy that they wouldn't be able to practice everything in one day but they could touch on a majority of everything.

Roy was positive that he would have a headache.

The first stance was a long one. Roy had to bend on one knee while raising the other leg back. When standing in this stance, Roy had to be rigid.

"Let's see if you're rigid," Dragon was observing Roy's stance and then he began to push Roy over.

Roy fell to the ground, surprised by Richard's force and strength. Roy scrambled to get up,on his own feet. Richard was amused. Like any of his previous students, there was much to learn within fighting and the students themselves. Dragon was always amazed.

"Try again."

Roy felt the determination gnaw at him. He wasn't going to be down that easily. It was one of his traits that ensured his survival of living in the Glades.

"Try to tighten your stomach and legs, particularly your back leg," Richard pressed his foot against Roy's back leg.

Roy followed his instruction. He breathed harder, trying to straighten his leg against Richard's strength. Richard was impressed with Roy's use of breathing. It would help in the long run.

Richard would initially deem Roy as one of the youngsters who refused to listen. His experiences as a vigilante and living in the Glades changed that. The fact that his teacher would also affect him. It was as if he was living up to the memory of his mentor by trying to be like him. Richard hoped it wasn't the only factor that was driving him; it wasn't a fun existence to strive for someone else and not yourself.

"Make sure your knee of your front leg points toward north west. If your knee is just straight, you'll be prone to fall over and be at the mercy of your enemy," Richard explained, keeping an eye on Roy's stance.

There were quite a few stances to learn, each with a unique purpose, look and features.

* * *

><p>Evening had befallen Starling City. After a meal, Richard gave Roy a book to read. It was one of those old classics he would've been forced to read after school. Richard insisted that Roy have a break from practicing almost all day. Apparently, reading a book would help him be relaxed in time for his archery practice. Other thing, Richard didn't have an operational television, which really sucked but maybe that was a lie so Roy would have to read the book.<p>

He began to read the book which was called The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer. As he read, it didn't seem horrible as he remembered classics from school.

An aged delicacy, perhaps?

Time quickly went by. Roy actually became immersed in the plot and story of the book. It reminded him of what it was like to be a child. Roy smiled at the memory of his father; for a long time, it was just them, until he tragically passed away. Ever since, Roy hadn't been the same.

Dragon told Roy that he could practice his archery, now that he finished his meditation, which he did twice a day. Where Richard got this patience, Roy had no clue.

As soon as Roy touched the collapsible bow, he smiled. He missed using his original bow and wanted to back to using it but this one would do just nicely.

Roy grabbed an arrow and notched it at the bow. He closed one eye and aligned the arrow with the central target. As soon as the arrow was aligned, he let it go. It soared across the room, only missing the target.

Roy felt disappointed but he hadn't practiced in a few weeks. Even before then, he wasn't a master archer.

As Richard nicely put he would have to practice, even if it killed him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**Victor Sage is better known as the Question. The Question's real name is Charles Victor Szsasz but he changes his name to Victor Sage. I tried to replicate the version of the Question from the series, Justice League: Unlimited. I personally liked the Question's portrayal there. The Question in his civilian identity is a reporter, hailing from Hub City. As Thea mentioned, he runs his own talk show. When Victor can't get information for a case legally, he dons the Question persona. The idea of having a faceless mask is to intimidate which works in his favor. He was notably trained by Lady Shiva and Richard Dragon.**

**Victor Sage will be playing a big role later. To be honest, I'm quite excited when I get through this training stuff. However, Roy will get to go on some missions, meaning there'll be a time skip most likely. Then some training. Then more missions etc. As for Thea's large role so far, her brother has just been murdered. Of course, she'll go to great lengths to find out what happened.**

**Although this chapter primarily focused on Roy's training, it was necessary. In the show, during the flashbacks, I felt that we didn't see enough of Oliver's training, particularly archery. Someone must have taught him after Shado was killed; in my opinion, Shado was killed too early and I did like her character.**

**In the next chapter, I hope to make it more practical for Roy. If anyone is wondering, I do practice martial arts and I do watch quite a few action movies.**

**Merry Christmas (yet again, but it's soon) and good day to all.**


	4. Chapter 4: First Mission

_**FIRST MISSION**_

* * *

><p>In the evening, Victor Sage sat on a chair in his hotel. He was thinking. The police refused to answer any questions, even today. Life was tedious. Sage had spoken to people closest in Queen's life such as Thea, Dinah Lance, Felicity Smoak and John Diggle. They apparently knew nothing, something Victor wasn't easily convinced by. Then again, he needed more proof that they had nothing to do with the murder. Unusually, Thea's ex boyfriend, an ex crook named Roy Harper had disappeared a few weeks ago, not too far after Oliver was killed and it was rumoured that he and Oliver were friends. Coincidence or not? If he couldn't find the answers as Victor Sage...<p>

He looked over to the dark blue suit he wore as the Question. Next to it was the pseudoderm, which covered his face, making him "faceless" and acting as a very good mask. The stuff also made his hair turn black. It seemed the Question was needed right now.

* * *

><p>The Question arrived at the scene of the crime. It was a quiet street in the Glades. There were hardly any cars driving around but the police concluded that it was an accident because the two cars accidentally collided head on. That's what the witnesses said what happened. It didn't hurt to double check and investigate.<p>

It seemed more likely that the crash was done purposely to kill Oliver Queen. After all, he was a major person in the city, even if he was broke. If his hypothesis was true, the witnesses would have lied. Indeed, what a puzzle he found. However, he had much information to gather before he could solve this case. He needed any material about Oliver Queen, such as phone numbers, where he went out, associates, phone records...the list was long and he better get started.

* * *

><p>Roy was progressing steadily within the month under Richard's tutelage. Richard kept Amanda updated of his progress. As a teacher, Richard was rather proud of Roy. He didn't constantly like to treat Roy like an experiment but Richard had to listen to Amanda, otherwise he would get fired.<p>

In the morning, Roy was practicing archery. It was his way of focusing and relaxing like meditation was for Richard. Holding the bow felt different from his previous one. Richard sometimes watched Roy practice. He was fascinated by archery and the mental discipline it required.

Richard felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He walked downstairs and had a look at the caller's ID. It was Amanda Waller. He immediately answered it without hesitation.

"Good morning," Waller didn't speak with such enthusiasm. "I've got a potential assignment for Mr Harper."

"Good morning Waller. I'll pass him onto you," Richard answered; would it kill Waller to be at least nice?

When Dragon arrived upstairs, Roy was picking the arrows from the targets. Richard walked right to him.

"Waller would like to discuss a potential assignment with you," Richard passed the phone to Roy, who looked surprised.

Richard stood back. As an agent of A.R.G.U.S, he already knew the details of the mission. Roy put the phone to his ear.

"We have managed to track a gang who are suspected of trafficking young women and children. Your goal is to find the location of the women and children. Richard will brief you more details because I've got quite a few things to take care of. Is your mission clear Mr Harper?"

Roy felt sick at the tight of human slavery. Those poor women and children suffering with no freedom at all. It was injustice.

"That's clear," Roy answered.

"Don't let your emotions jeopardize the mission. I'll text a location and any other details you need to know."

Amanda ended the call. Roy was stunned for a few seconds; he had never expected to be asked to go on a mission for A.R.G.U.S. There was a first for everything. This would be the first mission where he didn't rely on being Arsenal and he was going undercover. The main point was, he didn't expect Amanda to trust him that easily; she was up to something for sure.

"What's your role on this mission?" Roy asked curiously as he gave Richard his phone back.

"I still need to help you if necessary and generally, see how you tackle the mission. It's all taken in notes, which are briefed in a file sent to Amanda Waller," Richard replied, putting his phone back in his pocket.

"The injustice still beats me," Roy sighed, thinking of the destruction to Starling twice, the deaths of people and the fact more and more criminals were emerging, each becoming worse than the last.

Richard looked briefly saddened but his expression was neutral again. Roy seriously wondered what it was with emotions. When he was bothered, he didn't try to hide it.

"All details of the mission were sent to me this morning. A.R.G.U.S' technology is very difficult to hack into," Dragon replied, answering all of Roy's inquiries. "Let's go to the car."

Roy supposed they heightened the security due to Felicity. She was able to hack into anything almost. It was pretty impressive seeing her work with the computers. Roy wasn't a tech savvy but was glad to know how to operate a phone.

"Can I bring my bow and arrows?" Roy asked, just before Dragon began to move.

"No," Richard solemnly answered. "It would attract too much attention and we don't need suspicion. We need to be subtle."

Richard had lectured about the importance of subtlety. They did a few exercises on this. An example was that, Ruchard was the target. Roy had to use subtlety to sneak behind Richard and ultimately capture him.

Richard walked down the stairs whilst Roy followed behind him. Roy was grateful that he could leave the house. Other than the house, the only other place Roy had been in a month was the A.R.G.U.S building for training the recruits.

Richard sat in the driver's seat of the car. As Roy shut the door and sat down, Richard's phone beeped. Richard looked at the text.

"Our suspects have decided to go to the Oblivion," Richard spoke, amused as he read through the text. "Our main man of the gang is Pedro Ramirez. As a leader, he would know everything about the operations."

Roy remembered hearing about the Oblivion from somewhere. Of course, it was the bar that Sara Lance worked in during her college years. From what he heard, the bar was a sketchy place. It didn't surprise him that these traffickers would hang around there.

"I guess it suits their tastes," Roy shrugged, with a clear smirk of how these thugs could be so obvious.

Arrogance was something that couldn't be easily driven away but Richard decided to let it go for this time being. He immediately reversed the car and drive off to the city.

* * *

><p>Thea felt like she could no longer run the Verdant. It was Oliver's club and there were far too many memories of her in this club with Oliver...and Roy. It was Roy's fault; he had cheated on her and lied to her. That was too much.<p>

In fact, Thea almost forgot that Merlyn Global was still running. After the earthquake in the Glades, Merlyn Global was owned by one of the board members, who was planning to retire within the next few years. The earthquake was far fetched but other than that, Malcolm Merlyn wasn't an evil man.

Except Thea knew she would have some trouble acquiring a company, especially regarding her age. There was one person who could help. Thea scrolled through her contacts on her phone. She tapped on Laurel Lance's phone number.

"Hey Thea," Laurel answered, sounding slightly huffed out.

Thea shrugged. Laurel probably had attended a workout session. Thea laid back on her couch.

"Hey Laurel. I wanted to discuss legal matters, like obtaining a company," Thea was up front and direct.

"Gimme a second Thea. I was boxing," Laurel relaxed and put her mind in a thinking phase, surprised at Thea's request. "Okay. What company are you trying to get?"

"Merlyn Global," Thea replied. "You're the lawyer, so I kinda need your help. I don't plan to take it now, but later when the current CEO retires."

Laurel expected that. Thea was Merlyn's only living heir. She didn't need to worry about losing the company for now at least.

"It's better to get started and prepared. I'll coke over to your place so we can discuss this more easily and in detail."

Laurel had to give Thea credit for such strength in the aftermath of her brother's death. Laurel remembered when Sara died for the first time. She was weak and alone, with only her studies.

"See you then," Thea ended the call.

* * *

><p>When Roy and Richard entered inside the Oblivion, it looked a lot worse than just "sketchy". It had the atmosphere of bars from old western movies. The place was messy and rowdy; the ideal bar of the Glades. Other than its wild atmosphere, the Oblivion was renowned for its peanuts and magicians that performed every night.<p>

Roy pulled his hoodie down, concealing his face. He wasn't a public figure head but the media talked about him a little when he dated Thea.

Roy stepped on the shell of a peanut and cringed when he looked at the floor. Richard continued to walk in front, not bothered by the peanut shells on the ground.

All the seats and tables were filled. People were chattering. The bartenders passed drinks to others sitting by. The music was on. This time, the magic act didn't come until later in the night. Roy saw the poster for tonight's act. Tonight, world famous Gotham magician, Zatanna Zatara would be performing. It would be magical when these men were caught and put behind bars.

"Keep an eye out for these men," Richard passed photos of the men to Roy. "Remember, be subtle."

The photos were of a whole gang, about seven or eight of them. They wore the same clothing; a black beanie, dark grey sweater and dark blue track pants. They were also mugshots of every man, so he could recognize them by face.

Richard left Roy. He walked around calmly, casually listening to other's conversations and laughing a little every now and then. Roy felt like he was a spy, undercover. He was used to putting on the suit, solving everything by being Arsenal. It seemed this time, he would need patience as he tried to find the targets.

He navigated his way through a crowd of people. Roy looked around, everywhere. As he moved around, he was getting frustrated. Richard's meditation lesson came back to Roy's mind. He camly breathed, determined to not lose his cool.

Roy then stood not too far from a table. A few men and a woman began talking. He began to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Those guys were on A.R.G.U.S alert," the woman spoke, in a voice that Roy almost couldn't hear; it was times like these, he wished it was quiet. "Instead of hiding away, they decide to go to the bar, a public place where they can be seen."

"This is practically a bar for criminals," an older man took a drink. "This is where they do their deals."

A younger man raised his eye in interest and Roy did the same, except he was looking at the floor. The young man sat up and faced the older man.

"How come no one does anything about it?"

"The bar itself is owned by the mafia itself. People don't want to be embroiled in conflict that they don't need to be involved in," the older man explained with great wisdom.

"If I was on A.R.G.U.S alert, I'd hide and never come out," the woman spoke again.

Roy was intrigued but he needed to have a look around the whole place. He couldn't stand around for long otherwise he would look suspicious and that meant his cover was blown. Roy then looked up and began to walk away.

He walked near the dance floor. There was some people already dancing. Roy stood as an observer for a few seconds before leaving.

Roy began to walk toward the corner of the bar. He carefully looked at every table and every person who was sitting there.

On the far right, he counted eight men by a table. They had drinks which weren't touched yet. They were talking and laughing about something. Roy had a careful look at one of the men's faces. He then looked back at the mugshot. He looked at a few more of the men's faces he could see. They all matched the mugshots. Next, he took note of their clothing. It matched the pictures; gangs wanted to be known in a varietyy of ways, even if it was a certain dress code. He found the gang and was extremely pleased at the fact and with himself.

Knowing how rough gangs were, negotiation was no option. Instead, Roy decided to make it look like a fight. It was nothing special; he wasn't wearing a mask nor was he wielding a bow and an arrow.

Roy looked around to see if he could spot Richard. Richard was on the left side of the room, making his way to where the men and Roy were. If a fight broke out right now, Richard would be able to see it.

Roy knew he was confident but he would be careful. He strolled toward the table. One of the men turned around to face him. The rest looked up at him with looks of interest.

"What the hell do you want?" the first man demanded, not liking the presence of this hooded hooligan at all.

Roy responded by powerfully punching the man in the nose. He fell back, nose bleeding a little as he hit the table. The man was a little dazed. Nearby, people watched with wonder; the kid was asking for a death wish. The other men looked at Roy, fury written on their faces.

"Get him!"

The men lunged at Roy, jumping out of their chairs. Roy smirked and put his fists up, standing in a fighting stance with his knees bent and ready to pounce.

People began cheering. Some were looking amused and others were whistling loudly.

Dragon saw the conflict unfold. He sighed and shook his head but was impressed to see Roy utilizing the stances he taught and to keep his guard up.

One of the men swung his arm, fist clenched, toward Roy's face but he blocked the strike, using a head level block. Roy used the opportunity to get in close to his opponent so he could finish him off.

Before Roy could finish his opponent off, one of the other men snuck behind him and kicked Roy in the back.

Roy felt the hit. Before, he could move, he heard the shattering of glass against the wall. Roy swiveled his head to the right and saw Richard. He knew it purposely missed the closest man.

"STOP!" Richard, Roy and the gang turned to face one of the bartenders, who stood next to a burly security guard, who was well over six foot.

The bartender was relieved that he had the attention of the brawlers.

"Take your fight outside," the bartender beckoned to the door. "Security will escort you out to the nearby alley."

The security guard walked forward. The men began to walk on one side of the guard while Roy and Richard walked on the other side of the guard. There was utter silence as everyone watched the fighters leave. The bartender cleared his throat, before speaking and clapped his hands to get attention.

"Anyway folks," he tried to sound cheery although it was awkward due to the silence. "Zatanna Zatara has finally arrived to perform her show."

There was a great cheering and clapping from the audience.

* * *

><p>The security guard had led Roy, Richard and the gang through the back door. He almost pushed them out but everyone darted out of the way.<p>

"Have fun," the security guard mocked and smirked, before closing the door and firmly locking it.

Roy and Richard exchanged glances at each other and then at the gang in front of them. Pedro Ramirez stood at the front, glaring. He beckoned his men and then charged.

Roy and Richard were on the ready. Pedro charged toward Richard, who simply sidestepped, causing Pedro to crash head first into a bin. Roy could smell the stench.

The man with the bloody nose bounded toward Roy, his fists raised. Without warning, he punched several times, nowhere in particular. Roy deflected each hit by using his hands to gently slap the punches away from him. The man suddenly punched again and this time, Roy grabbed his fist and had the man on the floor, ready to twist his wrist.

Richard was fighting two opponents simultaneously. He kept bouncing around on his feet. Before one of the men could punch Richard, Richard elbow striked the man in the face. The second man lunged forward with a kick. Richard grabbed the man's foot and hurled him into the first man. Both men collapsed to the floor.

Before Roy could twist the man's wrist, another man got a cheap shot at the back of his head. Roy fell over next to the man and stumbled a little. He blinked a few times to adjust. Before the men could lay a finger on him, Roy rolled over to the side and got up.

Pedro was getting himself out of the bin. It proved to be an arduous task for him. He constantly coughed and cringed at the smell.

Richard joined Roy. His guard was up and ready.

"We'll have to fight together," fighting eight men was no problem for Richard but Roy couldn't fight that much people on his own.

Roy weakly nodded. That kick was a lot harder than expected. Roy and Richard stood back to back and began to charge.

As soon as Roy got his chance to fight, he was letting his anger and bitterness that he got hit that easily steer his mind. His strikes were sloppy but powerful upon impact.

"Focus!" Richard shouted out as he twisted one of the men's kegs and at the same time, sweep kicked another, then knocked him in the face.

Roy's opponent attempted to kick Roy in the gut but Roy blocked it. He quickly went in front of his opponent, performing one of the open hand strikes, hitting the man in his jawbone and upper neck. Roy knew he hit some crucial nerves and the man went down like a domino.

Another man jumped on Roy's back from the behind. Richard was fighting the last one. Roy gripped the man's wrists and flung him off his back with great force. One of the side effects of the Mirakuru being eradicated from his system, was that now he had great natural strength.

Roy kicked the man in the face, knocking him out. Richard finished his opponent. They looked over to Pedro, who had gotten himself out of the bin and had observed the rest of the battle.

Pedro, knowing he was outnumbered began to ran. Roy easily caught up to him, due to his youth and agility. Roy grabbed Pedro by the back of his shirt as Richard strolled over to the two. Richard beckoned Roy to start the interrogation.

"What do you two want?" Pedro was fighting against Roy's more dominant grip.

"We want to know where you keep the women and children you traffick!" Roy angrily hissed but Richard shook his head at him; he needed to keep calm.

Pedro's face paled, a sign of guilt; he wouldn't be able to crawl out of this one so easily.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Pedro pathetically lamented.

"You don't value your life then," Roy punched Pedro in the face, who looked shocked at him for using force.

"I really don't know anything," Pedro begged, like a whimpering child. "There were a few men who wanted my assistance at the abandoned CNRI building-"

He suddenly realized he was babbling and stopped talking. He looked at Richard and Roy terrified before Roy powerfully punched Pedro in the face, knocking him out. Richard withdrew his phone calling Amanda to send some agents to fetch the gang and told her the possible location of the trafficked victims.

When Richard ended the call, Roy looked at him puzzled.

"Aren't we going to rescue the victims?" Roy questioned, since Richard looked like he was in no hurry.

"That wasn't our task," Richard swiftly answered. "Our task was to find out where they were and we accomplished it."

"Shouldn't we do that since we found the location?"

"No, Roy. We had a simple task and we have to obey it-"

Roy began to storm away from the alley. Richard sighed. Roy Harper was so hot headed and he feared that was what would kill Roy one of these days. Richard then followed Roy, making sure he wasn't reckless.

* * *

><p>Lyla Michaels had gotten the call to rescue the trafficked victims. They were possibly located in the abandoned CNRI building. Along with two other agents, Lyla led the team of three to the old building.<p>

"Keep hidden and be ready," Lyla cautioned the two agents, who weren't as experienced as she was.

The two agents nodded. They loaded their guns and made their way to the building.

As Lyla arrived outside of the building, Roy arrived too. He stopped in his tracks. From a light post next to the building, Roy briefly saw Lyla's face before she concealed herself in the darkness.

Roy knew he couldn't go any further. If Lyla saw him, the consequences wouldn't be too good. Richard stood next to him.

"We can help if necessary" Richard offered.

Roy sighed and shook his head.

"Lyla Michaels is there. We can't risk it."

Richard knew of the correspondence between Team Arrow and A.R.G.U.S. He was aware that Lyla Michaels was engaged to John Diggle, Oliver Queen's ex bodyguard. Lyla was an honorable agent and fair compared to many of the other agents.

"You've done some good work tonight," Richard reminded Roy.

"Like getting kicked in the back of the head," Roy scorned at himself and felt a bit dizzy as he felt his head.

"You're learning. It's okay to make mistakes. We better leave now."

Roy nodded and followed Richard. Richard had so much faith in Roy, who was startled by it. Yet, it felt good to genuinely trust someone out of Team Arrow. Indeed, there was still much to learn.

* * *

><p>The Question had gathered a plethora of information about Oliver Queen. He analysed it many times. One piece of information that really struck the Question was that Oliver Queen had been accused of being the Arrow. The accusation was dropped when Oliver was in house arrest and the Arrow was seen fighting crime. It was very striking but why was Oliver accused of being the Arrow?<p>

During the month, as Victor Sage, the Question had questioned the citizens who lived in the exact area where Oliver Queen died. They revealed nothing, saying what they told the police. He also found a list of the witnesses from the police and carefully took it from them and replicated the list for th epolice to have. If he couldn't get an answer from them, the only way was interrogation.

* * *

><p>"Oh God no! Please don't do this!" a man was begging for his life; the only barrier between him and death was that he held onto the Question's gloved hands as he dangled below the balcony.<p>

A woman, presumably his girlfriend was crying in the corner. She was tied to a chair nd her mouth was gagged with cloth.

"Tell me the truth. What did you see on the day Oliver Queen was murdered?"

The man was terrified as he looked into the Question's faceless face. Who was this guy? Slenderman?

"How would I know anything? I wasn't there!" the man protested.

"I am aware that you are a witness. You can't lie to me," with his other hand, the Question held a piece of paper with the names of the witnesses. "You were the closest to find."

The man began to weep, dropping the act. He looked even more terrified.

"The guy who ran Queen over paid me a lot of damn money for me to kreep my mouth shut," the man revealed. "The guy did it on purpose and his car was a Ford ute. That's all I know, I swear."

Just as he suspected. The Question helped the man up.

"Excuse me for that. Have a good night," the Question exited the apartment, leaving the man and his girlfriend in shock.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**Hey guys! I hope everyone had a merry Christmas. ****Thank you so much for your feedback again. **

**I really like Zatanna so I thought I'd give her a mention. I'm hoping to write a Justice League story set in my version of the aftermath of Oliver's death. The established characters would be: Roy Harper/Arsenal (he's the protagonist), Barry Allen/Flash (he'd be the secondary protagonist and he's got his own show in the same universe), Laurel Lance/Black Canary (this may upset Sara fans but Sara is DEAD. I hope to write Laurel realistically and as a good character. She won't be Black Canary during Roy's journey but after and she'll have her Canary Cry), Bruce Wayne/Batman (He's Batman and Wayne Tech was referenced in the first episode of the Flash), Zatanna Zatara/Zatanna (she's a cool character and I mentioned her), Felicity Smoak/Oracle (as the League's hacker and the fifth episode of season three was originally titled Oracle), Ronnie Raymond/Firestorm (he's in the Flash. He'll recover from amnesia and be inspired by Barry) and Ray Palmer/Atom (he's in Arrow and to be honest he's not a terrible character). Caitlin Snow will become Killer Frost and learn how to use her ice/snow powers while helping the League. Cisco Ramon will become Vibe (his powers are like manipulating vibrations or creating them) and also help the League. Diggle will also be there. Victor Sage might become a future member of the League. Those are a few ideas.**

**The Oblivion was mentioned in the second season of Arrow. In the comics, it was a bar where magicians hung out. **

**I'm not sure if you guys noticed but when Oliver fights a major foe (like Captain Boomerang), Roy always gets taken down easily. Anyone remember when Oliver and Roy were fighting Cupid and her men? **

**Sure, Roy is learning martial arts but he's not perfect and he's still practicing. He's got to get a hang of it first. After all, this is a story of his journey to become a fully fledged hero; he's bound to make mistakes. Richard is a real pro so, yeah. Even then, Richard isn't perfect either. Even though it's a story, the characters are going to make mistakes.**

**Apologies for the long note. Happy holidays! Have a nice day.**


	5. Chapter 5: Investigation

_**INVESTIGATION**_

* * *

><p>When Roy and Richard arrived at the house, Roy began to read <em>The Starling Gazette<em>. He flicked through the news headlines. It was his only way to be aware of what was happening around Starling and some of the news was in other countries.

"Young people need to read more," Richard laughed as he sat down at the table.

Roy, who sat directly on the opposite side, raised an eye brow with amusement. He put the paper down in front of him.

"Since you don't have a T.V, this is all I got to keep up to date with the world and the fact that I'm caged in here doesn't help either," Roy answered, then went back to reading the paper.

"Well, you've got to train your eyes and mind," Richard shrugged, but Roy did agree with his point.

Richard got up and began to make some tea.

Roy kept flicking through the headlines. Then he found one that caught his attention: _EX-BILLIONAIRE'S MURDER HAS NO ANSWERS. _Roy began to read the article and was even more puzzled when he finished reading it. How the heck was Oliver killed in a car crash? That couldn't have been his body and Roy found himself frowning at the picture of what appeared to exactly resemble Oliver's body. Oliver went to Nanda Parbat to fight Ra's al Ghul and hadn't been seen since then. Malcolm showed footage of Ra's and Oliver's fight. Something wasn't right nor did it add up or make sense. Roy knew he would have to look into it.

Richard came out with some tea. Roy knew he couldn't tell Richard about how Oliver really died; he wouldn't believe him.

* * *

><p>The very next morning, Richard woke Roy up earlier than usual. Roy moaned and rolled over, facing away from Richard who was starting to look like a more stern father than a teacher.<p>

"Do you know how early it is?" as a vigilante, Roy had gotten to sleep in until early afternoon, usually just after lunch.

Although, now he was waking at decent times in the morning, such as eight o'clock.

"I am aware but Amanda Waller needs us at one of the A.R.G.U.S buildings," Richard flung the quilt off the bed and Roy sighed.

He got up, stretched and yawned.

"Have we really got another mission?" Roy grabbed his hoodie from where it dangled on his bedpost.

"Nope," Richard answered. "You have a practical training session today. Don't forget your archery equipment."

Roy gave a frown, wondering what on earth he'd be doing in this practical session. Would it just be fighting? Somehow, it felt like there was more to it. Then, he also had to worry about investigating Oliver's death and what it was with the exact identical double.

* * *

><p>Amanda Waller was waiting outside a room. She stood there in a elegant pose, her facial expression cold hearted and patient. An A.R.G.U.S agent had escorted Richard and Roy to where Amanda was waiting.<p>

"Wait outside Richard," Amanda sternly instructed. "Come through Harper."

Waller opened the door and walked through. Roy followed her, Richard closed the door behind him. Roy found himself in a large room. The lights were a neon blue, stretching across the ceiling. There was a chair in the centre of the room. On the chair, a man sat there tied, blind folded and gagged. Roy looked at Waller puzzled. He clutched his archery kit. Waller glanced at Roy and then at the man.

"This man is a petty thief from the Glades," Waller spoke unemotionally and then whispered. "You are to interrogate him and find where he hid items he stole."

"So, this is supposed to be my first lesson in torturing others," fighting was one thing but torture was completely different; Roy knew he could be a jerk but he wasn't that cold hearted to do that to someone else.

"Sometimes force is necessary," Waller replied. "You better get started."

Waller left the room. For a few seconds, Roy looked at the man uncertainly. He had seen Oliver do his interrogations and wondered how a man couldn't feel emotions. He ungagged the man, who spluttered for a few seconds. Roy stood back.

"Hello?" the man sounded very worried. "I don't know what you want but please, don't hurt me!"

Roy cleared his throat before speaking.

"Tell me where you have hidden the items that you stole," Roy tried to sound intimidating but he had no idea how to start this interrogation-slash-torture.

The man yelped nervously and began shaking. Roy looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Go to hell you son of a bitch!"

Roy slapped the man across the face. The man was momentarily shocked. Not a bad start.

"Tell me," he tried to sound furious. "Or there'll be consequences."

The man snickered at Roy, who clenched his fists in anger. Roy didn't like being mocked or made fun of. He had the upper hand and this guy was seriously annoying.

"You think I'm frightened tough guy-"

That was it. Roy quickly kicked him in the face, using the roundhouse kick. The chair fell, the man falling too. He cried in pain and was surprised. He screamed when Roy grabbed his shirt. Roy began to punch him until his nose bled. The man was shaken and could barely speak in full sentences. Roy was about to strike at the man again-

"Enough!" Richard had quickly entered the room and stood by Roy's side.

When Roy saw the blood slowly drip to the floor, he stopped. The man needed to be conscious. Richard could see that he managed to get to Roy.

Roy scolded himself for taking it too far. This was different from fighting. Fighting was quick and direct but torture was slow. His fighting instincts had taken over in the wrong time. Control, was what Roy needed.

Amanda had witnessed what unfolded due to a camera in the room. She was impressed. She supposed a factor of his sudden roughness was due to his upbringing but that could be fixed, like anything.

* * *

><p>Thea had just completed a sparring session with her father. He had left immediately after they had finished, like he usually did. Thea gulped some water down. She put her water bottle back in the fridge.<p>

She heard her phone ring loudly from where it was on the kitchen counter. Lazily, she answered it without looking at the caller ID.

"I've found some important details, regarding the type of murder and the motivation," Victor Sage immediately spoke.

"I suppose a hello or how you're going would kill you," Thea dryly remarked but was pleased he managed to find some answers.

Thea walked toward the window and looked out at the city.

"I like to get down to business Miss Merlyn. Last I recall, we are business partners not old friends exchanging pleasantries."

Malcolm had quietly slipped inside the apartment. He had forgotten something and he would be really quick and quiet. Thea wouldn't know. As he entered, he saw Thea on the phone. She had her back to him, facing the window. He ducked by the side where he couldn't be seen.

"You have a valid point, now let's get to business," Thea smiled, eagerly awaiting.

Malcolm was wondering what this business was. He was aware Thea had mingled in with the wrong crowd in the past. He hoped it wasn't a repeat.

"Your brother's murder was intentional. The witnesses were paid a handsome lot of money to not talk to the police," Sage perfectly recited and Thea felt the anger rising. "The culprit was driving a Ford ute."

"Did the witness remember a number plate?"

Malcolm felt his blood turn to ice. She wouldn't let go, would she? Who was this she was talking to? He didn't like this one bit.

"Not the first witness. I spoke to another one, who had a picture of the numberplate: WFG56: New York City."

"How about a colour?" Thea was desperate for any kind of information.

"I've been keeping in touch with the witnesses, who are more than willing to give me the information they know," Sage answered. "He recalled that the ute was black."

Thea was impressed that Sage had managed to make the witness confess all the information he knew. She didn't care how he did but she did care that he was getting results. It was perfect, really.

Malcolm found what he was looking for and took it. He would have to make an investigation to look into Thea's activities.

* * *

><p>"You didn't do too bad for your first torture session," Richard spoke, as he began to drive the car.<p>

It was early afternoon. The training session had finished for today. Roy had just buckled his seatbelt in.

"I think I took it too far," Roy decided to admit.

"Most of the recruits are soft to start," Richard reminded Roy. "You've probably seen your mentor torture someone before."

Roy remembered a few times when he was Arsenal working alongside the Arrow. Some of it would make a person wince. Not Roy though. He had seen torture in the Glades and had even been tortured himself by the Savior.

"I've been literally tortured."

_**...**_

Richard had prepared the room for a training session. Roy entered after stretching and warming up. He was ready for a training session.

"Your progress is good to see," Richard remarked as he prepared himself.

"So, the usual techniques?" Roy didn't complain because he actually liked learning martial arts. He felt like he had more style than before.

"We'll be learning how to fight an armed opponent when we are unarmed," Richard spoke, holding a small kitchen knife. "I'll be teaching how to effectively disarm and how to use the weapon to your advantage."

The knife brought a bitter memory. He remembered being stabbed when he rescued Thea from being assaulted a couple of years ago. He never wanted to feel like that again. Roy was surprised Richard was using an actual knife but this wasn't a self defense class; this was serious A.R.G.U.S training.

"Ready?" Richard asked, doing some fancy trick with the knife that made Roy envious.

Roy nodded. He got into a fighting stance, his guard up and ready to go.

"The first attack someone will do is to obviously stab you directly," Richard moved the knife in motion as an example. "As I come in, like this at you, I want you to dodge to the side and grab the hand that's holding the knife."

Roy nodded. Richard came in slowly and Roy jumped to the right and quickly grabbed Richard's hand.

"This presents the opportunity to either back fist me in the face with your other hand, head butt me in the face, step on my feet...there are quite a few combinations you can do," Richard spoke.

Roy did a swift back fist which didn't hit Richard and then stomped on Richard's feet. He wasn't fazed.

"What if it was a gun?" Roy asked.

"If the person is standing at you close range, it's a similar scenario to the knife situation," Richard explained.

"What about long range?"

"Run for your life. Now, let's practice a few times more times. Utilize different combinations."

* * *

><p>It had been another busy day at Palmer Technologies. Most of the workers had already left to go home for the evening. Felicity was busy typing away some important things for Ray. As she just finished, Ray entered the room.<p>

"I've just finished," Felicity smiled, walking over to the printer.

"I'm glad that you were able to help me," Ray was grateful. "I have to make it up to you."

"That's perfectly fine," Felicity walked to Ray, holding the papers.

Ray's phone began to ring. He smiled apologetically as he took the papers and left outside to take the call. Felicity began to clean everything up so she was ready to go home. Ever since Oliver died and Roy left, Felicity's solace was constantly working. They were among her closest friends and it felt horribly strange to not go to the Foundry and prepare for another night of saving the city.

Suddenly, the lights began to flicker off in the room. Felicity's eyes widened. In her experience, it was never good.

"Miss Smoak, I don't wish to hurt you," a voice spoke, almost growled.

Felicity turned around, face to face with the Dark Archer. She almost screamed in surprise. The Archer had an arrow, aimed and ready.

"What do you want?" Felicity didn't like it at all one bit ad was hoping Ray would come any second.

"I need your technical expertise," the Dark Archer explained. "You're obviously aware of who I am, so there's not much to explain. I need to monitor Thea's activities. I'm afraid she's slipping into the wrong crowd."

A complete lie of course and Malcolm was hoping that 'helping' Thea would get Felicity to agree to help him.

Felicity found this rather unusual. At least he wasn't here to kill her.

"Okay," Felicity hesitantly agreed. "Remember, I'm doing this for Thea, not you. I just need her phone number and I've got it from there."

_I'm also doing it for Oliver, _Felicity thought. _He'd want me to look out for Thea._

"I thought so," the Dark Archer withdrew his phone and showed Felicity the required phone number. "I'll be in touch."

Felicity typed Thea's number down on her notes in her phone. As she finished typing, the lights began to flicker on and the Dark Archer had vanished.

At that second, Ray entered Felicity's office with a frown on his face.

"Did you experience some electricity issues?" he asked.

* * *

><p>Roy was determined to start investigating into Oliver's death. He was severely confused; he had seen footage of two Olivers dying. Roy waited until Richard fell asleep. He went to sleep unusually early compared to most people. Roy grabbed his hoodie, quiver, bow and arrows.<p>

He was at the Glades now, trying to find any of the witnesses. One of the witnesses was a young woman, who was Roy's neighbor. He arrived at his small run down place, which looked worse than usual.

Roy walked to the neighboring house. Perhaps it was time to practice torture and control. The more experience, the better. He arrived at the front door and began to pick the lock. A.R.G.U.S taught numerous things. After the lock was picked, Roy quietly entered inside. He heard the T.V rambling on. Then he heard the young woman's voice; she was presumably talking to someone on the phone. He silently closed the door.

He hid and kept a careful eye.

"See you later," the woman said, before presumably ending the call.

Roy decided to sneak out further into the house. He saw the young woman sitting on a chair by the table. She had her laptop out and was looking through some very nice houses, too nice for someone to ever purchase if they were living in the Glades. He turned the light off. The only light was from the woman's laptop.

"Stand up!" Roy's voice modulator activated, achieving its purpose of intimidation.

The woman slowly stood up. Roy had his bow and arrow on the ready.

"Turn around," the woman slowly turned to face Roy.

As soon as she faced Roy, she almost screamed. There was an armed assailant in her house, ready to use his weapon. Roy didn't particularly enjoy this but simple negotiation never worked and if it did, the person most often lied.

"Please don't kill me," the woman was beginning to grow teary, it was understandable but Roy gritted his teeth in guilt; nothing was ever easy.

"Listen to me carefully and nothing happens to you," Roy stated, still holding his bow.

The woman kept an eye on the bow and arrow.

"Okay," the woman nodded, sounding calm.

"What exactly did you see when Oliver Queen died?"

The woman's eyes widened. There was rumors of a vigilante going around the Glades and questioning about Oliver Queen's death. She knew the rumors were true because a vigilante visited her last night, inquiring about the same information. What if these two vigilantes were working together? What did they want?

"I haven't got all night," Roy fired an arrow and it hit on the nearby wall.

The woman jumped. This guy wasn't kidding.

"It was an accident. The two cars accidentally crashed...it's all a blur really. It happened so fast," the woman answered, faltering, her hand ruffling through her hair.

"You're a terrible liar," Roy smirked; the hand in the hair and the faltering voice was enough; he didn't need to be a genius to figure it out.

Roy walked in front of the woman and held her up by her shirt. She was shocked.

"I'll ask you once more or there'll be blood," Roy growled.

"Fine," the woman snapped angrily. "Oliver Queen was killed intentionally. The hit man paid a lot of money to me and the other witnesses to make sure we didn't spill."

"Anything else?" Roy had a tighter grip.

The woman nervously swallowed.

"I have a picture of the number plate. I was going to show the police but the money..." the woman trailed off, reliving the memory.

"You should have told the police," Roy sighed. "Now, show me the picture."

The woman nodded. She grabbed her phone from the table and turned it on. Roy had an arrow aimed to make sure no funny business occurred. The only thing that really frightened Roy was that she would call the police. The woman went through her pictures. She found the number plate picture and showed it to Roy.

"I need a piece of paper to write that down," Roy found a nearby notebook on the kitchen counter with a pen.

He went to the notebook and ripped a page out. He wrote the number plate. The woman saw her opportunity. She grabbed a large knife and swung it at Roy. From his peripheral vision, Roy saw the woman. As the knife swung down, Roy grabbed the piece of paper and ducked. He scrambled back a few steps and withdrew an arrow, ready alongside his bow. The woman froze. He'd be able to shoot quicker than she'd be able to charge at him.

"You're lucky I don't call the police," Roy spoke.

He kept his arrow aimed at her as he exited the kitchen. As soon as he was far enough, Roy sprinted for his life, disappearing into the darkness before the woman could do anything.

As soon as Roy was far away as possible, he decided to look for a phone book and booth.

* * *

><p>After Roy got a phone book, he went through the phone numbers to find Felicity Smoak. Upon finding her number, he saved the page using the note, which had the vehicle's number plate on it. Next, he went to search for a phone booth. Luckily, he had a few dollars on him just in case.<p>

It was rather silent and dark where the phone booth was. It was an eerie feeling; the only light cane from the booth and Roy felt uncomfortable, as if he was being watched. He wanted to get this over and done with. He checked that his voice modulator was activated and ready. He dialed Felicity's number.

"This is Felicity speaking," Felicity's voice answered and Roy really wanted to snort at the irony of the situation, it was like the good days of an active Team Arrow.

Roy leaned against the glass walls of the booth. He held the phone closer to his ear. It felt odd to talk to a friend like this. He cleared his breath before speaking.

"Miss Smoak, I need your help," Roy spoke, trying to be all serious and intimidating, which really wasn't his thing.

"Ummm...who exactly is this?" Felicity was always inquisitive and wouldn't easily be fooled.

"That doesn't matter," Roy answered. "I've investigated into Oliver Queen's death and I have a number plate, regarding the vehicle that is responsible for the accident. I need you to see who owns the vehicle. I believe that Oliver Queen deserves closure and justice; sure, he wasn't perfect but every murder deserves to be solved. Imagine how his loved ones feel?"

Felicity remembered watching the news. She was so torn between Ra's stabbing Oliver in the chest and Oliver dying in a car accident. She wasn't sure what to believe and left the issue like that. If she helped this mysterious do gooder, he may find the closure for Thea, for Diggle, for herself...

"Okay then, all I need is the number plate."

Roy recited the number plate from the note he was looking at. Felicity began her technical magic. Within minutes, Felicity found the information Roy was looking for. Roy was relieved. He might be able to solve this mystery after all and have some closure once and for all.

"The owner is Nicholas Sokolov. His address is 27 Moore Court."

Roy gritted his teeth at the mention of Moore Court. It was among the most run down streets in the Glades. It was filthy and crime reeked.

"Thank you Miss Smoak; I appreciate your assistance to my investigation."

"Of course."

Roy then ended the call. He began to run to Moore Street. A good run wouldn't kill him. Felicity heard the phone call end. She ended it on her line.

* * *

><p>Moore Court had suffered badly from the earthquake and Slade Wilson's army. In fact, it would more than likely to never recover. There was quite a bit of domestic violence. As soon as Roy entered the street, he heard screaming and yelling. Across the road from him, a few teenagers were smoking and chatting away. Roy was disgusted by how people could smoke. He tried it once because it looked pretty cool on an old Clint Eastwood movie but Roy almost ended up choking. He couldn't understand how people could do it.<p>

Moore Court wasn't particularly a large street but enough trouble lurked for one to think oppositely. Roy began to walk in the street, hoodie down. Hopefully, he'd blend in. Roy put his bow, quiver and arrows in the kit. Maybe, it looked like he was holding drugs.

Roy had a good look at each mailbox as he walked past. 21...23...25...27!

Roy looked around his surroundings. No one was really around so he walked toward the front door. The house looked a bit old. The white paint began to peel from the walls of the house. The door was a marrone-red in colour.

He checked if the door was locked. Surely enough, it was. Roy began to pick the lock. As soon as he did, he carefully and slowly opened the door. His heart raced a little. He wondered what he would find. As soon as Roy entered the house, the inside of it was kept in perfect condition, unlike the outside. Roy opened his kit and grabbed his archery equipment. He left the kit behind the door and proceeded further inside.

It was eerily silent and dark in the house. It was like a scene from a horror movie. Watching horror movies wasn't too bad for Roy but being in one was completely different. Roy constantly looked around in every direction.

At the end of the entrance hall was the living room. On the couch was a person sitting up. Roy froze but continued to move slowly.

Roy flicked the lights on. The person didn't move. Another person immediately stood up from behind the couch, wearing a dark blue overcoat, fedora and was completely faceless. Roy jumped back in surprise, his bow and arrow ready.

"What the heck?! Slenderman?!"

The faceless man sarcastically laughed before crossing his arms. He walked over, close to Roy.

"Do not confuse me with a children's bogeyman. I am the Question," the faceless man answered. "If you're wondering, that unfortunate fellow is dead."

"Oh..." Roy sighed, mentally cursing that it was a dead end. "Did you kill him?"

"I'm no murderer," the Question answered simply. "He was a suspect in an investigation I am investigating. It seems there is more behind the scenes and he was killed to make sure, he didn't leak the information he possesses."

The Question looked at the man in thought. He analysed the corpse, just in case he missed something important.

"I am here for the exact same reason," Roy spoke, maybe someone else could help him.

"Really?" the Question seemed to be scorning at him, something Roy did not appreciate. "You're investigating Oliver Queen's murder? I wouldn't blame you; the circumstances are rather suspicious. I am assuming you are one of the archers of this city; you haven't been seen in action for a while. Since you're in red, I am guessing you're the one dubbed Arsenal."

That guy could speak really fast and think fast too. He seemed like one of those detectives.

"You're right," Roy nodded, impressed that this guy was quick on his words and knowledge. "I suppose we could help each other."

"I've never worked with anyone on the field," the Question mused, as if he was weighing his options. "Since we're working toward the same goal, I agree with and accept your proposition."

Question extended his arm and hand for a handshake. Roy looked at it for a moment.

"I accept," Roy extended his arm and hand to handshake the Question.

Hopefully, they'd be able to solve this mystery.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**This chapter was rather fun to write. Everyone's investigating and it all ties to Oliver. In fact, Oliver's death plays a large role in Roy's first year at A.R.G.U.S. I hope I've successfully managed to show how he uses Richard's teachings. Now, Roy and Question have teamed up to find out what really happened when Oliver died (the fake one). I wasn't going to make it too easy.**

**As for the reference to Clint Eastwood westerns, I'm talking about the highly acclaimed Dollars trilogy. You should see some clips on YouTube. Eastwood's character smokes and he makes it look badass but that's my opinion. I've never smoked so I wouldn't know what it's like.**

**Roy's journey to become a fully fledged hero will take five years. Five years is a pretty good length of time for Roy to master martial arts and everything else he's being taught. It took Batman years to train; in the comics, he started testing himself when he was a teenager. Plus, in Arrow, Roy is about twenty three (the Arrow Wikipedia states his birth year is 1991).**

**Thank you guys so much for your tremendous feedback and for those who have followed and favorited. A little can go a long way. Have a good day!**


	6. Chapter 6: Red

_**RED**_

* * *

><p>Roy and Richard had just finished self defense simulations in one of the A.R.G.U.S training facilities. The simulations were rather basic but effective.<p>

"These simulations will be useful when you're not in your costumed identity," Richard pointed out while Roy began to drink from his water bottle.

Roy nodded. After he finished drinking, he put his bottle down.

"How about a sparring session?" Roy asked, hopefully.

"Of course...nothing like a good fight," Richard smiled, putting his fists up and standing in a fighting stance.

Roy smirked, copying the same motion. The two red heads looked at each other, eye to eye as if they were trying to read each other's emotions and actions. The stare was only for a split moment.

Roy lunged first with a head level punch. Richard ducked, striking with his fists, aiming at Roy's face. Roy felt the brief power of Richard's strike; its strength and precision. Roy blocked the strike and managed to send Richard a few steps away due to his surprising strength. Roy jumped in the air, sending a kick toward Richard's face. Richard grabbed Roy's leg while Roy grabbed onto Richard's shoulders to prevent himself from falling. They both fell over like dominos but Richard got up quicker, his arm at Roy's throat.

Roy grabbed Richard's arm and pushed it away quickly. He rolled to the side and quickly got up.

Richard striked, using an open hand strike. Roy dodged the lethal strike with perfect timing. Richard was faster and Roy felt the other open hand strike, hit his jawbone. It wasn't as lethal as it could have been but it hurt a little. Roy darted right in front of Richard, striking him in the chin with a riding elbow strike. Richard retaliated by using the same strike but opposite arm.

Amanda Waller entered the room, in her usual fashionable manner. She looked even more stern than usual. Richard noticed her enter and immediately stopped. Roy then looked over to see Waller walk in.

"So, Mr Harper, why did you go to the Glades last night?" she was upfront and strict, surprising Roy but Richard didn't appear fazed.

Roy attempted to smile and make a little laugh. Richard was amused but Amanda was not. She looked even more cross.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Waller."

"I would believe you if you weren't full of crap Mr Harper," Amanda retorted, calmly with a smirk, knowing that she had the upperhand. "You have a chip implanted in your neck. Its purpose is to keep a track of you. I may be a busy woman but I'm not a fool."

Roy gritted his teeth. There was no way out of this one, not if they weren't trained agents protecting the world.

"Okay, you got me," Roy begrudgingly admitted. "I needed to investigate Oliver's death. There are so many questions and not enough answers. I need to know-"

"You can't play hero until you let Oliver go. He is dead and won't be coming back," Amanda icily answered, keeping eye contact with Roy. "It's reality and you must get over it; otherwise, you won't be able to move forward."

Roy hated to admit it but he knew Amanda was right to an extent but he wanted to bring closure to the team, to Thea. If he didn't deserve it, they did. In the space of approximately less than a year, Thea lost her mother and brother. Felicity and Diggle had been with Oliver a lot earlier than he was.

"Have it your way," Roy was annoyed. Why was investigating his friend's death such a pain?

"However, your use of resources and what you have been taught is impressive," Amanda caught Roy's expression. "We do have access to CCTV footage Mr Harper which does exist in the Glades. You could have been seen or recognized by those who knew you."

Richard nodded in agreement with Amanda's statement about Roy's use of resources. He knew his place within A.R.G.U.S and within Waller's presence and hoped Roy would learn too. Being an agent wasn't all about espionage.

Roy understood the reasoning but he felt like nothing if he wasn't doing something. He couldn't sit out.

"Um...thank you for the compliment," receiving a compliment from Amanda Waller was rather unusual.

"You won't be going out for a few weeks. You'll be watched but your training will continue on," Waller spoke in a tone like a mother's when she was setting out a punishment.

Roy never knew what that was like since his mother was practically non existent and his father was never home, back when he was alive. Roy bit his lip, accepting this punishment, knowing that one couldn't mess with A.R.G.U.S security. Yet, he was very creeped about bring watched. What a stuff up...

* * *

><p>A couple of nights later, Felicity was about to leave the office to meet up with Ray after she finished reading Iris West's blog on the Flash. Another speedster had been witnessed running around and Felicity was rather curious. As she read, the lights in the room flickered off. Felicity almost face palmed. She looked up from her computer screen and saw the Dark Archer, standing before her.<p>

"You really need to stop doing that," Felicity emphasized on "that". "Like, don't you have a more original way of sneaking around..."

The Archer looked amused and darkly laughed. It was a creepy laugh and Felicity slightly shivered.

"Did you get any information about Thea?"

Felicity almost scorned at him but remembered that he could just kill her here and then.

"We need a more effective way of communication," Felicity began to answer. "I found this information immediately after you gave me her number."

Felicity opened her drawer while the Dark Archer kept a careful eye on her. Felicity pulled out a few papers and passed them to the Archer. The Archer looked over the papers, realizing that they were Thea's phone records and the numbers of those who she was calling.

"I appreciate your assistance Miss Smoak-"

"There's something worthy to mention," Felicity ran her fingers along the paper and touched a phone number that was highlighted. "In the past few days, she has been ringing this number. The caller ID for this number is famous Hub City reporter, Victor Sage, whose birth name is Charles Victor Szsasz. He has a bit of a traumatic past, considering he lived in an orphanage and didn't have a good reputation there."

The Dark Archer was rather interested. It was more than obvious why Thea was contacting this reporter. He couldn't let the reporter find out what happened concerning Oliver's death but most of all Thea. The consequences would be devastating.

* * *

><p>Victor Sage had completed some work for his boss back at Hub City. He would continue his investigation tonight. Victor hoped he would encounter the Arrow, which would be very unlikely considering he hadn't be seen in a couple of months, or Arsenal. It would be easier since they knew Starling a lot better than he did and Arsenal did agree to team up with him.<p>

Victor left his paperwork on his desk and didn't bother tidying it. He left to go to his closet where his Question suit was ready. He was about to open it when a black arrow was fired right next to his face, grazing his cheek

Sage immediately turned around to face the Dark Archer, who had another arrow ready to fire. He knew exactly who the Archer was and wasn't intimidated.

"No one likes a crusading reporter, poking his nose in what does not concern him," the Dark Archer warned, voice modulator making him sound rather intimidating.

"I'm only doing my job," Victor innocently answered, his expression was placid. "Surely, you understand that I need money like the next man to survive in this kill-to-survive society we live in."

The Archer fired another arrow, which Victor grabbed in mid flight.

"Stay out of it, otherwise the next one to die would be you," the Archer was adamant and serious in this threat.

The lights flickered off. Victor quickly ran to the switch and turned on the lights. By this time, the Dark Archer had vanished, like a phantom.

However, Victor looked toward the closet. The Archer didn't frighten him but Victor was aware that it could have been worse; the Archer had only warned him. However, Victor was never good at listening to anyone.

He took the other arrow the Archer fired and threw both arrows out of the window. There could have been sensors on those, anything really. Victor didn't want to experiment. Victor closed and locked his window. He made sure his doors were locked.

To keep in contact with Arsenal, Victor had given Arsenal a phone. The phone could only be used to contact him. Victor had the other phone so he could converse with Arsenal. Both phones had voice modulators on them so Victor didn't need his voice modulator to speak on the phone. He grabbed the phone and began to call Arsenal.

* * *

><p>Roy sat on his bed, reading. There were a few A.R.G.U.S agents outside of his room. The locks on the windows of his bedroom were changed so Roy couldn't pick at them at all. Roy felt like he was confined to house arrest.<p>

He put the book down and got up for a stretch. Roy took off his hoodie and opened the drawer to put it away. The phone that the Question had given him began to ring. The Question was practically paranoid about giving him the phone in a public place that he forced Roy to make the giving of the phones look like a handshake. The Question rambled on about being watched and Roy regretted not believing him.

Roy answered the call and sat in a corner that was most further away from his bedroom door.

"Hello," he whispered, looking out to the door.

"I've been in contact with reporter, Victor Sage-"

"Keep it down!" Roy hissed, as he still kept looking out to the door. "It's not the best time to be noisy."

"My apologies," the Question whispered, quite sincerely. "As I was saying, I am collaborating with Victor Sage since, like you, we have a similar interest in the death of Oliver Queen. Sage was attacked by Malcolm Merlyn, also known as the Dark Archer. He was threatened unless he stopped investigating the case. This is quite serious."

Roy sighed. He looked around and knew there was nothing he could do while under house arrest by A.R.G.U.S.

"Right now, I've got other things to take care of," Roy sighed. "We'll have to talk about this later."

"Of course."

"Good bye," Roy ended the call.

* * *

><p>During the next few weeks, Richard made Roy train harder than ever in his life. It was very intense and a few times, Roy wanted to collapse. When he finished at night, he literally collapsed onto his bed and immediately slept, like he never had in years.<p>

One of the dreams that combined to plague Roy was the memory he had when he was seven. He was alone at the house, watching whatever was on T.V, when the police knocked on his door and explained to him that his father was dead, killed in an accident. That was when he was truly alone for the first time made when he realized it.

Early in the morning, Roy awoke. He decided to practice archery. He grabbed his bow and loved holding it. He grabbed the quiver, full of arrows, and put it on his back. When he opened the door, he saw there was a new batch of A.R.G.U.S guards. They looked at him with dagger piercing looks.

"I'm going to the training room to practice archery," Roy said, like it was no big deal.

One of the A.R.G.U.S guards followed him, like a lost puppy much to Roy's annoyance and embarrassment but he decided to ignore the guard. He walked upstairs to the training room and set the targets up at different angles. The guard continued to watch and decided to not annoy Roy.

As soon as the targets were set, Roy stood at the centre of the room. He held his bow and had an arrow ready to fire. He carefully looked around the room, laying his eyes on each target.

Roy aimed at the first target his eyes laid upon. He quickly fired, the arrow landing near the centre. He was getting better, thankfully. He around, immediately finding the next target. His hand quickly took an arrow from his quiver. He aimed and then fired. The arrow soared in the air before piercing into the exact centre of the target.

Roy smiled. He didn't stop. He swiveled around to face more targets. In front of him were three targets. He had an arrow, ready and aimed. He quickly fired and immediately got his next arrow to fire. The first arrow didn't quite hit the centre. With precision, he let the next arrow go. It landed on the target. The third arrow that he fired landed nowhere near the centre due to the target being on an angle. It seemed Roy would have to practice more with angles.

Richard had entered the training room. By now, he was annoyed of the guards' presence in his home. He looked relieved to find Roy and the guard.

"Waller says it's okay to go now. Your work for the few weeks is done here."

The guard nodded and left. Roy looked relieved.

"Thank goodness for that," Roy sighed with relief. "Thanks Richard."

"Well, you know that A.R.G.U.S is quite serious now. Don't do it again," Richard nodded. "Either way, Waller just called me and we have an assignment in Central City. We are to locate and bring in Daniel Brickwell."

Roy looked interested. Central City had a lot nicer look than Starling, nothing interesting much happened there although there was a vigilante running around, literally.

"Really? I thought Brickwell was in jail or something like that."

"You know the vigilante, the Flash better known as Bartholomew Henry Allen in his civilian identity," Richard passed Allen's file to Roy so he could read over it.

"I thought it was just Barry," Roy wasn't even going to bother to say Barry's full name.

"A mere nickname," Richard answered. "It'd be easier for you to get the mission done because you know the Flash. As for Brickwell, the explosion that you were involved in earlier, seemed to be awaken some kind of mutation within Brick. This mutation has given him superhuman strength. He's escaped to Central City, probably to gain ranks in the underworld over there and the fact that the authorities there don't know he's escaped yet."

Roy's widened. He couldn't even beat Brick before when he had apparently normal strength but superhuman strength...

"You better get your kit. A new suit has been made for you since your last one was badly damaged during the last fight you had with Brickwell. It's on the kitchen counter."

Roy nodded and began to go downstairs.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Central City<strong>

The Flash was running. Leonard Snart, also known as Captain Cold had returned to Central City along with a new friend, who happened to be a pyromaniac. Flash dodged the ice cold rays of the cold gun. People were screaming as they were trying to flee the scene. Ice and fire were in all directions.

With a monotonous expression that was literally cold, Captain Cold looked rather intimidating. He was taller than the Flash and more well built. His goggles protected him from the ice that he fired from the cold gun that was stolen from STAR Labs, the gun that was supposed to be used in case the Flash went rogue.

"I heard you go by the Flash now," Captain Cold proclaimed, firing the ice gun at Flash and he had a surprisingly good aim. Flash felt a little ice on his sholder but not enough to slow him down. "I heard that I'm called Captain Cold; I like that. How about you think of a name for my friend here."

"What do you want?" Flash called out, ignoring Captain Cold's request.

"You," Captain Cold answered. "You're the only one who stands in our way."

Mick Rory, Cold's friend, fired a wave of heat at the Flash from his fire gun. Flash felt the heat wave. Mock Rory looked rather insane and his deranged smile proved it. Captain Cold was more relaxed, no pun intended.

"_I was thinking Snart's friend could be called Pyro." _Cisco brainstormed and the Flash almost smiled when he heard Cisco talk through the comm.

_"Pyro is from X-Men," _Caitlin Snow reminded Cisco and Flash heard Cisco muttering other ideas.

_"How about Heatwave?" _

_"That could work."_

Flash knew Snart was a lot smarter and more difficult to beat. The only way to beat Snart was to get the cold gun off him. Mick Rory or Heatwave's gun could be stopped by water since it was fire. There had to be a fire hydrant around somewhere...

"Come over here Heatwave!" Flash called out, waving his arms frantically.

Captain Cold was about to intervene when Heatwave pushed him aside and began to fire rays of heat and flames at the Flash. Flash ducked and ran. Heatwave ran after him. Flash was waiting for Heatwave by a fire hydrant. When Heatwave saw Flash waiting, it was too late. Before he could move, Flash directed the water from the hydrant toward Heatwave. Heatwave quickly put his fire gun away on his belt and felt himself get soaked. Captain Cold immediately fired the cold gun at the hydrant. The water froze. As Flash moved away, Captain Cold timed his aim to hit the Flash. He missed the first time. Captain Cold fired a few more timed shots and cranked up the power of the gun. Captain Cold fired once again as the Flash began to charge toward him from the sides, in an attempt to get the cold gun. Flash felt the ice seep over his body. He felt himself slowing down to a halt, the world was slowing down.

"_Barry?! Are you okay?" _Caitlin and Cisco both called out at the sane time in the comm.

Captain Cold smiled at his handy work. Heatwave gave me a high five. The only unfortunate fact about Heatwave's suit was that it protected him from fire, not water.

Captain Cold was about to fire the gun at the Flash again when an arrow soared through the air, hitting the gun and causing Captain Cold to fire the gun in another direction.

Flash looked over to see Arsenal, with another arrow on the ready. Richard Dragon stood next to Arsenal wearing a black ski mask to conceal his identity. Arsenal smiled.

_"I'm okay," _Flash smiled.

Police sirens could be heard wailing louder as they got closer. Captain Cold bit his lip. He knew there was no point that the police were coming. He and Mick could get their vengeance on the Flash later. Now, it was time to go.

The villainous duo quickly fled the scene. Arsenal wasn't too worried about them now. He and Richard ran over to the Flash. Finding the Flash wouldn't be too hard if operated at both day and night.

"Are you okay?" Arsenal had never seen the Flash slowed down before.

"Just go to STAR Labs," Flash answered, as he tried to vibrate his hand to get it moving.

Richard nodded. The trio fled the scene too. When the police arrived, mere moments later, all they saw was a big mess. Joe West sighed and shook his head; it was just another unusual day in Central City.

* * *

><p>Flash had directed the directions to get to STAR Labs for Richard and Arsenal. When they arrived, Caitlin and Cisco surrounded Flash, making sure he was okay. Harrison Wells slowly entered in. The wheelchair seemed to have made him a different person entirely.<p>

Flash pulled down his cowl and looked over to Arsenal and Richard. Arsenal and Richard looked over to Flash then Cisco, Caitlin and Dr Wells.

"They won't reveal your identities," Barry told Richard and Arsenal.

Cisco and Caitlin recognized Arsenal but looked inquisitively at Richard. Barry noticed Harrison Wells entering the room.

"Dr Wells, this is Arsenal," Barry gestured to Arsenal. "He's the Arrow's partner in heroism. His real name is Roy Harper."

Wells looked at Arsenal as he took off his hood and mask. Roy extended his arm and hand out for a handshake. Wells accepted it, looking at Roy inquisitively.

"Nice to meet you Roy..." Wells begn to say and looked as if he were remembering something.

"Hello Dr Wells," Roy was polite.

Roy had heard all about Wells from Felicity and Oliver. They had two separate recounts of the man. Felicity described the man as a genius whereas Oliver described him as creepy.

"What was your father's name?" Wells asked curiously, the whole question intrigued everyone.

To Wells, it seemed that he met Roy before but that was impossible. The man he met would have aged.

"I'd rather not talk about him..." Roy sighed. "I'm named after him; I'm Roy Junior and he was Roy Senior."

Now, Wells remembered and the resemblance was rather remarkable except for the blue eyes. A feature from his mother, perhaps?

"I knew your father Mr Harper," Dr Wells smiled. "He was a great man, he saved my life once."

Roy frowned at Wells. Barry and the others were intrigued.

"You knew him?"

"He was an A.R.G.U.S agent, who was working undercover at a work function I was attending. The function was under threat and he saved my life, simple."

Roy almost scoffed. That was impossible. His father spent much time away from home, withered in misery ever since Roy's mother died in mysterious circumstances when Roy was two.

"I never knew my dad. Anyway, my friend here, is Richard Dragon," Roy introduced Richard as he took his mask off.

Wells appeared interested in that fact but didn't press the issue.

"That's a cool surname," Cisco grinned, shaking hands with Richard and Roy laughed at Richard's amused expression.

Caitlin and Barry smiled and shook their heads. These were times when it was obvious Cisco was the youngest amongst them.

"My actual surname is Drakunovski," Richard spoke wisely. "Dragon is just an alias I use and it is more easier to remember."

Cisco nodded, getting what Richard was on about.

"That's still cool. I'm Cisco Ramon, the computer guy. This is Caitlin Snow, our bio engineer."

Caitlin came forward and shook hands with Richard. Barry then looked to Roy. He had heard the news about what happened to Oliver and was practically crushed when he first heard about it.

"It's sad that he's gone," Barry spoke. "How's Felicity and Diggle?"

Roy faced Barry. He had no idea how he was going to explain this at all.

"Felicity and Diggle are fine but they have no idea I'm here and they have no idea I'm working with Richard."

Barry gave Roy a bewildered expression. Roy knew it was going to be complicated to explain. Caitlin left the room to get something from her car.

"Ever since Oliver died, Team Arrow is...gone, faded away and I'm trying to continue Oliver's legacy as a vigilante. Don't tell Felicity and Diggle that I'm here."

"Okay," Barry got his hand out. "Handshake for a new partnership-slash-team."

Roy smiled and accepted the handshake. If Roy didn't have allies in Starling, he was glad to know Barry was nearby in Central City.

"The reason why I came to Central City is because I'm hunting crime boss, Daniel Brickwell. He's escaped Iron Heights and was last sighted in Central City," Roy explained to Barry.

Dr Wells came over to the duo. He had some papers stapled together and gave them to Roy.

"Is this the man you're looking for?" Dr Wells inquired as Roy looked at the picture.

Roy immediately recognized Daniel Brickwell. There was a strong desire in him that wanted to get equal with Brick following their previous encounters. Roy nodded at Dr Wells. Barry began to have a look through Brick's criminal records. The man was clever and quite tough.

Richard was showing Cisco some karate moves. The latter was thrilled and tried to copy the moves.

"Barry, we should totally have this guy around more often," Cisco called out, demonstrating a basic punch that Dragon had taught him.

Richard smiled and Barry gave a thumbs up.

There was a loud beeping noise. Roy and Richard looked puzzled while Dr Wells, Barry and Cisco were immediately concerned. Cisco rushed over to the security screen. His eyes widened in terror. Barry and Roy rushed to see what was going on.

"We know you're inside Flash," it was Captain Cold, holding the ice gun and had it aimed at Caitlin's head.

Caitlin appeared deadly calm despite being gagged and used as a hostage. Heatwave looked a lot better than earlier. Barry gritted his teeth. Roy didn't really know Caitlin but he felt the desire to help. Barry pulled his cowl up and ran out, wind blowing in everyone's faces and papers were falling to the floor. Richard's eyes widened at how fast Barry ran out. Cisco sighed, grabbing the papers.

"You'll get get used to that Mr Drakunovski," Dr Wells smiled.

Richard slowly nodded. Roy put his mask on and pulled his hoodie up. He began to run out. Richard followed him.

"Be careful!" Cisco called out, only getting a nod as a response.

He looked to Dr Wells and sighed. Cisco was reminded of his mistake of letting the cold gun out of sight; it nearly cost their friendship with Barry.

"I'm not sure what's worse...fire powers or the ice gun."

"Don't worry Cisco," Harrison kept his calm.

Dr Wells looked at the security camera footage. Caitlin appeared to be taking the situation well. He was glad Roy and Richard were here; the Flash needed a future.

* * *

><p>Captain Cold and Heatwave carefully looked around the car park of STAR Labs. They knew the Flash would be around somewhere along with his friends. Caitlin couldn't say much due to being gagged. As time lurked on, she did feel a bit nervous.<p>

Flash was on top of a vantage point. He looked below the car park. Richard and Arsenal appeared next to him.

"Where do you think we should attack from?" Flash was worried for Caitlin's safety because of the damage that the cold gun was capable of; Flash, himself, slowed down but a normal person died. "You guys have to be careful; the cold gun could kill you if it touches you. We have to make sure Caitlin isn't endangered as well as you guys."

Arsenal literally shivered. He didn't like the idea of a cold death. Richard appeared to survey the situation down below. He appeared rather thoughtful, calculating the options available.

"We'll have to draw Snart away from Miss Snow-" as soon as Richard spoke, Flash immediately sped off, disappearing in an instant. Richard looked at Arsenal: "follow my lead."

Richard began to climb down from the point, Arsenal closely following.

Captain Cold was growing more impatient by the second. He looked over to Caitlin. He had sent Heatwave to find Flash and he hadn't come back yet. He was impressed by how calm she was despite death tugging at her soul. It was a shame that someone like her had to die. He was about to release the trigger-

"I'm over here Snart!" the Flash was only several feet away. "Let her go!"

Captain Cold immediately fired at Flash. Flash dodged the shot and was about to run toward Captain Cold when Cold fired the gun at Caitlin.

Caitlin's expression was of pure shock. Her skin began to pale and her lips turned blue. Flash looked on with terror and the fact that he had failed one of his friends. Her hair color changed to an icy blue.

Captain Cold let go of Caitlin.

"I let her go," he smirked; he had gathered an idea of the Flash's weaknesses, one would be failure to help others.

Caitlin couldn't stop shaking. Captain Cold fired the gun again.

_**...**_

Heatwave was carefully analyzing his surroundings. The car park was relatively empty of course but it was slightly dark.

Richard and Arsenal carefully ran through the car park, looking out for Heatwave. Several hundred metres in front of them, Heatwave stood there, his back facing them. Richard nodded to Roy. Roy withdrew an arrow from his quiver. He aimed at Heatwave and fired. The sound of the arrow firing caused Heatwave to swivel around. With his fire gun ready, the arrow was burnt to a crisp.

Heatwave smirked: "Is that all you got?"

Richard and Arsenal briefly froze. They looked at each other and then Heatwave, who began to walk toward them, the ground heating in his wake. The duo then ran for their life. Heatwave sadistically laughed and began to fire the gun, causing the ground to go on fire. He began to run too.

"We must split up," Richard spoke. "It's the only way of defeating him."

Arsenal nodded and took a right turn while Richard took a left turn.

_**...**_

Each time that Captain Cold fired the cold gun, Flash dodged it, getting closer. Captain Cold jumped back when Flash attempted to knock the gun off his hand. Without the gun, Captain Cold was just an ordinary man.

Caitlin was on the floor, her skin a light blue.

Captain Cold fired the cold gun again. Flash had been practicing how to dodge multiple projectiles at once. Flash dodged and then slid on the ground. Before Captain Cold could move again, Flash tripped Captain Cold. The ice gun fell out of Cold's hand. In a split second, Flash grabbed the gun.

"So, you're going to kill me?"

"It's not my job to decide that or do it," Flash replied, before knocking Captain Cold out with a quick punch.

He ran over to Caitlin and began to check her pulse. She was still breathing and that greatly relieved him. Flash then ran back inside STAR Labs so Caitlin could get help.

_**...**_

Richard sneaked behind Heatwave, jumping in the air, kicking him in the back of the head. Heatwave stumbled but quickly regained his balance. He fired his heat gun at Richard who quickly forward rolled to the side.

Heatwave fired his gun again. Richard did a couple of backward handsprings to dodge the flames.

Arsenal was on the sidelines, far enough so that he wouldn't be seen. He had an arrow aimed at Heatwave's hand but Heatwave kept moving. At the perfect opportunity, Arsenal let the arrow go and it hit Heatwave's gun. The gun fell to the floor but Richard was too far to get the gun. Arsenal ran toward Heatwave, since he was closer.

As Heatwave picked the gun up, Arsenal fired another arrow. Arsenal put his bow down. Heatwave knew what the hero wanted; a good old fashioned fist fight.

Heatwave punched at Arsenal, aiming for his face. Arsenal grabbed Heatwave's fist and we sabout to twist it when Heatwave kicked him in the gut. As Heatwave was about to finish Arsenal off, Arsenal rolled to the side and quickly got up. Arsenal round house kicked Heatwave on the side. The unexpected power of the kick caused Heatwave to lose his balance.

Heatwave was about to reach for his fire gun but Arsenal came right in front, kicking the gun away. Heatwave pinned Arsenal to the floor, his hands holding onto Arsenal's shoulders. Arsenal outstretched his arms, causing Heatwave to fall over. Arsenal got up and so did Heatwave.

Richard was observing the fight. He would have to intervene if necessary.

Heatwave punched at Arsenal a few times. All the strikes were expertly blocked by Arsenal. Arsenal then performed an open hand strike at Heatwave's jawbone. He didn't expect it and almost stumbled over, in pain. Arsenal finished him off by kicking him in the face.

Richard came forward with the heat gun.

"If I were the man's accomplice, you would be dead," Richard reminded, holding the heat gun which looked ready to be fired.

"I guess my preparation and facing multiple opponents needs some work," Roy nodded in agreement.

"Just be thankful and don't make the same mistake next time," Richard spoke.

* * *

><p>Captain Cold and Heatwave were put in the underground prison of STAR Labs. Caitlin was in a steady condition. Everyone stood in front of her and watched over her. Wells was behind everyone.<p>

"It's all my fault," Barry sighed. "If I didn't jump right in front-"

Cisco was monitoring her condition. He was personally amazed by how Caitlin survived the cold gun.

"If you didn't come or came later, she would have died," Roy interrupted with Richard nodding in agreement.

"Dr Wells," Cisco looked over his shoulder to face Wells and gestured fir him to come over. "Her heart rate is dropping, her body temperature is dropping too but she appears completely fine."

"That's unusual," Dr Wells commented, looking rather thoughtful.

Barry and Roy left Caitlin's bedside. They stood near the doorway. Richard had walked over to Cisco and Dr Wells. They were quietly discussing to themselves. Caitlin lay peacefully, sleeping.

"So, you and Richard are operating as Starling's new heroes?" Barry asked, because what exactly happened at Starling hadn't been really addressed to him.

This would be difficult to explain to Barry. Roy bit his lip as he was thinking a simple way of explaining it.

"No. I'm working with A.R.G.U.S-"

"A.R.G.U.S, as in top secret agency operating world wide?" Barry was rather shocked and didn't expect it.

"Yes," Roy nodded. "They're training me because my training isn't complete."

"Okay," Barry nodded, understanding. "I can't believe Oliver died in a car crash. He was my inspiration. Statistically, he would have more of a chance dying in the field, fighting than in a car crash."

"Barry," Roy cut out Barry's rambling, with a sigh. "Oliver didn't really die in a car crash-"

Barry looked puzzled. He raised an eye. To him, it didn't make sense since there was a body. A body was pretty good physical evidence.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I don't know how it's possible but the body of Oliver Queen on the news isn't real; it's like a double-"

"Döppleganger?" Barry offered and Roy nodded.

Döppleganger...that got Roy thinking. It made it sound like Oliver was cloned. That could be a possibility, but who would do that and why? Heck, was that even possible? Roy didn't rule out anything, escort silly regarding the existence of meta humans and the Mirakuru.

"The real Oliver was killed in a duel against the leader of the League of Assassins, Ra's al Ghul," Roy solemnly spoke.

"If he killed Oliver...what chance do we have?" Barry asked, concerned. "Either way, how do you know this?"

Barry had heard about the League from Felicity and had heard that they helped Oliver defend Starling from Slade Wilson's army. He only wondered about the change of heart. He knew of the danger they possessed.

Roy knew it was a valid question. Barry may have stood a chance with his speed but he had no style of fighting. Roy knew he wasn't experienced enough. Fighting the Demon now was out of question; they weren't prepared or experienced enough.

"Let's not worry about the League right now. Anyway, someone who knows the League told me what happened and showed me video footage," Roy knew that Ra's wouldn't bother anyone in Starling for a while since he believed that Sara Lance's killer was dead. "We have to worry about our future as heroes."

* * *

><p><span><strong>Starling City<strong>

Thea invited Victor to her apartment. He sat on the couch while she poured him a glass of water.

"Thank you Miss Merlyn," he smiled, but then his expression changed to curiosity. "I admit that I'm rather curious to why you wanted me here. I haven't finished my investigation yet."

He sipped some water. Thea crossed her arms.

"A couple of months before Oliver died, Sara Lance was murdered. Her murderer was never found or brought to justice. I knew Sara and like Oliver, I need closure for both their deaths, in which both murderers haven't been found."

Victor began to think. His mind began to form connections that could be possible. He had heard of Sara Lance, the younger sister of Oliver's most famous girlfriend, Dinah Laurel Lance. Oliver and Sara were romantically involved, even of it was a cheating scandal to most people.

The door to Thea's apartment opened and Laurel Lance walked in. When she arrived in the lounge room, she gave Victor a quizzical look. Victor was fully aware of who she was, given the news.

"I'm glad you could join us Laurel," Thea smiled, offering Laurel a seat.

"What did you want to talk about Thea?" Laurel was puzzled and then she gestured to Victor: "Who is this?"

"This is Victor Sage, a famous reporter from Hub City. He's investigating Oliver's death and I'm wondering if he could investigate Sara's."

Laurel's heart almost jumped at the mention of Sara. She looked to Sage, the desperation written on her face.

Victor realized that both women were very serious. He admired their loyalty to their deceased loved ones. After all, he loved a good case. These cases were rather interesting anyway.

"Mr Sage, would you be able to investigate Sara's death?" Laurel looked at him hopefully. "I've tried and hit a dead end."

"Don't worry Miss Lance," Victor assured. "I'll find the one responsible for your sister's death."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**Happy New Year!**

**This is the first part of a crossover with the Flash. I really wanted to focus on Barry's reaction to Oliver's death since Barry practically idolized Oliver. I based this chapter off the trailer for the tenth episode of Flash, which is titled "Revenge of the Rogues". I watch both Flash and Arrow; both shows are quite different in tone but compliment each other. I imagine Roy and Barry would be good friends; Barry's only two years older than Roy. What sets Roy, Oliver and Barry apart from each other is the fact that Oliver went through the heinous experiences on Lian Yu. Barry and Roy are the "light" characters in their shows. The most similar thing about these two is that their mothers died when they were children.**

**In the comics, Roy's father was a ranger, who died while saving people from a fire when Roy was a child. Roy's mother is unnamed (not even Roy knows her name) and she did die when Roy was about two.**

**I don't think there'll be another crossover but it'd be nice to explore how Team Flash is going. This also means that the events after the ninth episode of Flash, "The Man in the Yellow Suit", will also be AU.**

**With Brick having powers, I say when the particle accelerator exploded, it affected people worldwide, not just people in Central City. Brick's powers needed to be awakened and what awakened them was the explosion in chapter one.**

**If only Laurel knew who the murderer was...Thea's more than likely going to be in deep shock.**

**If anyone is a fan of Sara, there's a petition to bring back Sara that a fellow FanFiction member, changingdestiny40, put up. If anyone wants the link to sign the petition, you can message me or changingdestiny40. I can't write the link on here because FanFiction won't allow me.**

**Thanks for reading and have a nice day!**


	7. Chapter 7: Red: Part Two

_**RED: PART TWO**_

* * *

><p>Flash had agreed to help Arsenal and Richard to find Brick. The following night, the trio decided to split up. However, Flash could quickly scour the city within mere minutes. Richard knew, that even with super speed, you could always miss a clue. Richard was thoroughly investigating the area not too far from the city's hub.<p>

Richard pulled his hood down. To anyone else, he looked like a hooligan on the streets. Richard made sure he was constantly aware of his surroundings.

He began to walk past an alleyway. The lighting of the area was dim and he could hardly see a thing in the darkness. Richard almost walked past the alley when he heard screaming, followed by a cry of terror. He froze in his footsteps and looked toward the alley. Curious, he decided to have a look.

As soon as he entered the alley, he noticed it was small. The lighting was rather strong here and he saw a neon sign. The sign made it obvious that this small dodgy place was a nightclub.

His eyes fell to the sight of three men harassing two women. One of the women attempted to hit one of the men with her handbag. He didn't flinch and slapped the woman in the face. The other woman noticed Richard and her eyes widened at the sight of another stranger.

"What are you looking at doll?" one of the men asked, a cigar in his mouth.

The woman flinched as he breathed the smoke in her face.

"O-Over there," she wailed, knees collapsing to the floor.

The trio of men turned to face Richard Dragon. They looked surprised but their expressions instantly became smug.

"We've been looking for a good fight," the man with the cigar smirked, defusing the cigar and dumping it on the floor.

"Well you found one," Richard smirked, cracking his knuckles.

Without warning, the men ran toward Richard. The women ran to a nearby corner to witness the fight. One of the men attempted to jump on top of Richard but Richard grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt and head butted him in the face. Richard didn't wince in pain while the man had a bloody nose and began whimpering away.

The two remaining men nodded at each other and simultaneously charged at Richard. The first one attempted to kick at Richard's abdomen while the second aimed a punch to Richard's face.

Richard grabbed the first man's leg and hurled him to the nearby wall. His head made contact with the wall, rendering the man conscious. At the same time, Richard dodged the second man's punch and sweep kicked him to the floor.

With one foot on the second man's chest, putting pressure on it, Richard glared at the man. The man looked back, terrified and unsure of his fate.

"Do you know of Daniel Brickwell?" Richard hissed angrily, applying a little more pressure to the man's chest by pushing his foot harder.

"I've heard the rumors; he's got the strength of ten men," the man spluttered. "Ten men is what it took to at least immobilize him...but he broke free-"

"Where is he?"

"I don't know," the man wheezed. "There are a lot rumors that he's hiding around some of the old buildings...the old Central City. That's all I know, I swear."

_**...**_

Arsenal was exploring the riverside of Central City. It was quiet and that him feel uneasy. He kept looking around at every corner. It was a sir he expected the clue to Brick's whereabouts or Brick, himself, would jump right in front of him, taunting at him. Arsenal had his bow and arrow ready.

"I couldn't find anything," Arsenal almost jumped at the sudden sound of the Flash's voice.

Although Arsenal was taught to mind his surroundings by Sara's wisdom, the Dlash was so fast, that he couldn't even hear him come from behind. Flash widened his eyes at the sigh too the arrow, pointing at his face.

"Sorry," Flash apologized, waving his hands up.

"He can't have disappeared," Arsenal gritted his teeth in frustration; the desire to fight Brick and to get even with him nagged him. "Richard and I received intel that he was here; pictures, notes...everything."

Flash then began to think. Flash had explained to Arsenal that as well as quick legs, he had an equally quick mind. Arsenal watched in interest as Flash was thinking.

"He's probably laying low so he doesn't get caught; we need to make it obvious that we're not after him. Give him a surprise," Flash whispered , while looking around to make sure they weren't watched.

Arsenal nodded in agreement. He realized his desire to get even was strong and decided to clear his mind out. Maybe STAR Labs had some training dummies of some sort or a,ybe Richard was luckier.

"Did Richard find anything?" Arsenal whispered.

"No," Flash shook his head; he could see Arsenal was frustrated. "Well, not when I last checked a few minutes ago."

* * *

><p><span><strong>Starling City<strong>

Laurel sat in her apartment. She had just come back from an intense boxing session with Ted. She walked to her bedroom and walked to her bed side desk and pulled one of the draws out. Inside was one of the three black arrows that had killed Sara. Laurel felt the anger toward the unknown killer. How could Sara have been killed so easily?

She felt her phone vibrate and knew a text had been sent. She put the arrow on the desk and went to check her text. It was from Thea. Thea had sent her Victor Sage's number.

Laurel took the arrow with her to her living room. She put it on the table, alongside her laptop. Laurel turned her laptop on her and searched Victor Sage on the Internet. He was apparently one of the best investigative reporters in the country and he had an impressive track record. Laurel knew she couldn't take any chances and Victor Sage had solved all sorts of cases ranging cold cases to conspiracy. She looked back at the arrow. She didn't regret asking him to help her.

Laurel began to dial Sage's number. She waited for several seconds for him to answer.

"_Good evening."_

_"Mr Sage, it's Laurel Lance... would you be able to come to my apartment?"_

**_..._**

About twenty minutes later, Laurel heard a knock on the door. Before opening it, she looked through the peep hole to see who was there. Since Slade Wilson had barged through unexpected, Laurel always made sure to check who was on the other side of the door. She was relieved to see Sage bad immediately opened the door for him.

"Thank you for coming," she answered, beckoning him to follow her and locked the door after he entered.

"It is nothing Miss Lance-"

"Call me Laurel," Laurel called out,as she took the arrow from the desk and walked over to Victor.

Victir immediately recognized the arrow. It belonged to the Dark Archer. His eyes widened with curiosity.

"Where did you get that Miss—Laurel?" Victor felt that the arrow or the Dark Archer wasn't coincidental at all; it was a mere piece in a larger puzzle.

Laurel sighed as she looked at the arrow. She held it out to him so he could inspect it.

"This was one of the three arrows used to murder Sara," Laurel explained. "My friend tried to analyze any DNA on one of the other arrows...they weren't able to find any conclusive information. This was the arrow embedded in her abdomen."

Flashbacks of Sara with the arrows embedded in her, falling from the building still haunted her mind.

"I can try to run a test for DNA on the arrow," Victor answered, putting gloves on his hands and then holding the arrow himself. "However, your sister wasn't murdered recently and I can see why your friend couldn't find anything. This may take a while."

Laurel nodded, understanding.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Central City<strong>

As Arsenal and Flash were about to leave the area, they heard voices. The duo held their breath and did not make a sound. They followed the direction of the voices while sneaking as quietly as they could. Arsenal felt the thrill of being a hero turn on; finding the baddies was hard but once they were found, it was a lot more exciting.

Right by the river, there was a gang of thugs. One stood out from the group and everyone looked toward him. Arsenal and Flash kept low, observing the scene.

"Brick has recently arrived from Starling City. He only wants the best and only the best to work for him," Brick's henchman spoke to everyone else with an authority like tone. "You have no direction or purpose but if you join Brick's gang, you'll fare better in the underworld than any other gang or person."

The thugs cheered and nodded.

"However, to instill fear, you must be able to fight. Brick does not cowards which is why, I am hosting a fight club as initiation. Welcome to the fight club. However, you must not talk about fight club, at all. We cannot afford rumors that'll jeopardize the operations."

Arsenal and Flash's eyes widened. They definitely found the right guy to talk to. He disn't look like a mere thug but had a build similar to Richard; he was possibly a good fighter, if Brick was making him host the fight club.

"Fight Club much," Flash commented, quietly and with amusement. He caught Arsenal's expression. "What? It's a movie and he's lecturing them like Tyler Durden when introducing the fight club."

"Right," Arsenal shrugged. "Never seen that movie."

The men all nodded at Brick's right hand man, who toothlike grinned at them. His arms were quite muscular and Arsenal observed the blue colored and star shaped tattoo. The men cracked their knuckles, ready for a fight.

"Who's ready?"

Without warning, the men attacked each other. Arsenal and Flash were surprised by how these men were swayed so easily. Yet, that didn't matter now. What mattered was finding Brick's location.

"You got the tracker?" Flash whispered, referring to the tracker Dr Wells had given Arsenal as a token to help find Brick.

Being in a wheelchair, it was the most he could do and it was a very helpful piece of equipment.

"Yep," Arsenal looked at Flash and then at the scene below.

The duo modded at each other. Flash ran down the area, knocking some of the thugs like bowling pins. Arsenal fired a few arrows from where he was hiding. They were clean shots, wounding several thugs.

Brick's right hand man grunted in rage. He clenched his fist and withdrew his phone. He began talking and then out the phone down, grim.

"You!" he looked up to where Arsenal was and Arsenal looked back, a slight smirk on his face. "You've interfered enough. Come down and fight like a man!"

Flash had knocked down a few more thugs.

"With pleasure," Arsenal sounded a little cocky but it was done purposely to anger his opponent; an angered opponent didn't think clearly.

Arsenal clutched his bow and as he ran to face his opponent, he knocked several thugs who were in his way with his bow. When Arsenal faced Brick's right hand man, he put his bow on the floor. Without warning or hesitation, the right hand man struck at Arsenal who grabbed the man's fist and began to twist it. The man howled in pain and Flash's eyes widened at Arsenal's force.

The very few remaining thugs fled the scene.

Instantly, the man kicked Arsenal on the side. Arsenal dodged the kick and let go of the man's fist. Arsenal pretended to attempt a punch at the man's face from the side where he dodged, but instead he had cleverly placed the tracker just below the shoulder. He made this look like as if he was attempting to grave the man's hair.

Arsenal jumped back. The tracker would be used as a back up, in case anything went wrong. Now, all he had to do was to bring the man begging on his knees.

Suddenly, the man withdrew a gun and fired at Arsenal. The Flash ran toward Arsenal, time seemed to slow down. Flash tackled Arsenal to the ground.

Wind began roaring at their faces. Hovering not too far from the ground was a helicopter. The doors of the helicopter opened and several armed men began rapidly firing at Arsenal and Flash.

Flash grabbed Arsenal and then sped away as fast as he could, leaving a gust of wind in his wake.

* * *

><p>Richard had just arrived in STAR Labs. It was a busy scene, like it normally was. Cisco and Dr Wells stood by Barry and Roy, both latters had their hoods off. Caitlin Snow was still in a coma. Ner condition was thankfully stable.<p>

"We're glad you could join us Mr Drakunovski," Dr Wells turned around to face Richard.

"Did you find anything Roy?" Richard asked Roy.

"We found Brick's right hand man...but he escaped. However, we planted the tracker on him," Roy answered and Richard smiled, he was glad his latest apprentice was doing well.

Richard, Roy and Barry had been given trackers and any other little accessories by Dr Wells. Wells knew A.R.G.U.S was serious business.

"That is excellent news Roy, Bartholomew, Cisco and Doctor," Richard nodded while Barry shook his head ad Cisco laughed.

"Mr Dragon," Barry spoke. "It's Barry; we're friends now...I think."

"He sounded rather badass," Cisco grinned, earning a similar reaction from Roy while Dr Wells looked on with amusement.

"Either way," Wells took off his glasses and cleaned them before putting them back on. "We need to give Brick the element of surprise. It'll be dawn in several hours, I think it's time we all get some rest and continue looking for Brick later. Cisco, I'll look after Caitlin until you come back after a good rest. Barry, I think it's time Leonard Snart and Mick Rory get taken to Iron Heights."

Everyone nodded in agreement and began to separate. Cisco walked toward the car park, followed by Richard and Roy. Wells remained fixed in his position. He looked over to Caitlin; everything was going just fine. Before Barry was about to run, Wells gave him sedatives to give Captain Cold and Heatwave, which would make it easier for him to take the villainous duo to the police.

Barry pulled his cowl up and raced downstairs to the meta human prison and unlocked Captain Cold and Heatwave's cells. Before they could react, Flash immediately sedated them and ran to the front of the C.C.P.D. He dropped them in front of the front door, tied up. He left a simple note: LEONARD SNART AND MICK RORY; DELIVER TO IRON HEIGHTS.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Nanda Parbat<strong>

Ra's al Ghul looked out to the mountains, hearing the wind whisper a haunting melody in his ear. A couple of months had passed since he bested Oliver Queen. However, startling news approached him that Oliver Queen was killed in a car accident. This greatly puzzled him. On the other hand, he had to make sure Malcolm Merlyn was killed. Yes, many things filled his mind.

He began to practice some sword movement. He was rather graceful. Ra's knew that he had to maintain his skill.

He heard someone coming. The footsteps were silent; this warrior was rather skilled. Then he heard a second set of footsteps. They were coming from behind him.

Ra's swiveled around, his blade aimed at the necks of the intruders. In front of him now, he saw a Caucasian man, well over six foot. His hair was graying and his eyes were of steel. He looked rather tough and was very well built. He wore dark grey armor but he did not carry a sword; he carried a dagger and throwing knives.

His companion was a woman of Chinese descent. She had dark hair and her eyes were a window of mystery. She was quite lithe. She wore traditional Chinese clothing that was not amour; her coat was red. A sword was in her sheath.

"What have you discovered?" Ra's asked the two warriors.

"CADMUS cloned Oliver Queen to stage the car accident in order to ensure no one knows what happened to the real Oliver Queen," the woman answered.

Ra's nodded. He was impressed by the deeds of Amanda Waller and the great lengths she would go to. It wasn't surprising, considering Queen's past with A.R.G.U.S.

"How did you obtain this information?" Ra's asked, in order to make sure his warriors had done a thorough investigation.

"We spoke to the witnesses who were present at the accident," the man spoke this time while the woman respectfully crossed her arms. "They gave us all the information we needed to find the one responsible. We found the one responsible for the car accident and he explained everything; it was originally Malcolm Merlyn's idea."

Ra's narrowed his eyes at the mention of the Magician.

"What is of the one responsible?"

"I killed him," the woman answered, stepping forward. "We could not afford him to tell the Magician of our presence. Before I killed him, he gave us the Magician's whereabouts in Starling and all his safe houses."

Ra's smiled, clearly impressed. He knew that he had sent among his very best. He put his sword back in his sheath.

"You have done great work," he told the man and the woman. "Get some rest. Within the next day, you'll fly back to Starling. You will kill Malcolm Merlyn and get rid of any blood samples of Oliver Queen. If his allies are aware of what has occurred, they'll clone him to bring him back."

"Of course Master," the woman bowed, alongside the man.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Central City<strong>

Roy and Richard decided to stay at Barry's house instead of the A.R.G.U.S base in Central City. When Roy awoke, he lazily looked at the time on the nearby digital clock; it was nine o'clock. Roy groggily got up from bed and made his way to the bathroom.

As he exited the room, Barry rushed past into the bathroom. In a few seconds, he rushed out, leaving a gust of wind in his wake and definitely giving Roy a wake up call.

When Roy got downstairs, dressed in his jeans, Converse, a white t-shirt and his favorite red hoodie, he saw Richard practicing his meditation exercises and Barry was watching with interest. Roy rolled his eyes; Richard would always be an early bird.

"Do you always wear that hoodie?" Barry asked curiously as the trio left the house.

"Don't diss my hoodie," Roy shook his head while Richard looked amused.

"It is a valid question," Barry defended himself.

_**...**_

The trio decided to stop by the CC Jitters cafe. Barry had called Cisco so they could all meet for a coffee before going to work. Barry was grateful that Joe had his back and the fact that everyone knew he was late.

As soon as Barry, Roy and Richard entered the cafe, Iris West had just finished serving a customer. She smiled when she saw Barry enter and he smiled back. She looked curios when she saw the two red heads accompanying him.

"Morning Barry," Iris grinned. "So, who are your new friends?"

Roy looked at the African-American girl talking to Barry. He saw her name tag, reading IRIS. He immediately assumed that this was Iris West, whose blog Felicity often read and who was mentioned by Oliver after he came back from Central City.

Richard stood patiently and quietly. He had no idea who this was.

"Iris, this is Roy Harper," Barry gestured to Roy, who smiled respectfully. "Roy this is Iris West."

"Nice to meet you Roy," Iris spoke.

"Likwise," Roy answered."

"My other friend is Richard Dragon-" Iris' eyes widened at the mention of Richard Dragon.

"You mean Richard Dragon as the famous master of Kung Fu and Karate, especially the master of Dragon style Kung Fu," Iris rambled in excitement.

"That would be me," Richard smiled and then Iris began to talk about martial arts with Richard.

At that moment, Cisco entered. Roy grabbed Richard by the arm and hauled him to a nearby table. Roy gave Iris an apologetic look and she nodded, understandingly. Barry gave a look of relief to Roy; the group had important things to discuss which Iris didn't need to know. Cisco ran to their table and sat down on the closest chair.

"I've turned on the tracker," Cisco spoke and then looked at Roy. "You did an impressive job of sticking that tracker on that tough dude. I've tracked him to an old Merlyn Global warehouse; it's located in the older part of Central City. No one goes there anymore."

Cisco grinned at his handiwork. Roy gave a thumbs up to Cisco.

"What should the plan of attack be?" Barry asked while Richard and Roy leaned in to hear every word.

"If this Brick dude has the strength of ten men, I recommend you three should work together; a speedster, an archer and a Kung Fu master," Cisco's response got the trio nodding in agreement. "Here's a layout of the warehouse."

Cisco unrolled a large blueprint across the table. Barry, Richard and Roy huddled around the table. The four began to whisper about the plans and questions. To anyone else, it seemed like there was an important project they were working on. Iris watched with curiosity but continued to serve her customers.

* * *

><p>Dr Wells began to read a book. He still kept a careful eye on Caitlin. She looked completely normal. He put the book down and decided to go downstairs to his secret room. As he left, the machine watching Caitlin's vitals began screeching. Wells turned around and saw Caitlin's temperature rapidly dropping. He didn't panic but looked with curiosity. Her skin began to turn a very pale white. What made Wells intrigued was that her hair turned an icy blue. Next, her lips turned the same blue as her hair.<p>

Suddenly, the eyes of Caitlin Snow opened. They were not her warm brown colour but the same icy blue as her hair. She turned to face Wells and sat up. Wells smiled.

"Are you alright Caitlin?" he asked, concerned.

Caitlin looked down at her hands. She had never seen herself so pale in colour and her fingers trembled. Her fingernails were an icy blue.

"Shouldn't I be dead?" Caitlin bit her lip.

Suddenly, a little bit of her hair fell in front of her face. Caitlin almost jumped. She saw that her hair was blue.

"What's happened to me Dr Wells?"

"I'm not sure Caitlin; we'll have to do some tests-"

Caitlin looked down at her hands. A shard of ice formed on her hand and when she. Over her hand, the ice flew straight toward one of the computers. It was sharp enough to damage the screen.

"You know Leonard Snart did this to you," Dr Wells reminded her. "People are frightened by what they can't understand. If anyone were to find out about Barry...but he looks completely normal. You look different; some people may be very scared."

Caitlin looked at Wells, fear written on her face.

"I won't hurt anyone," she promised.

"Some people may try to exploit you Caitlin, use you," Dr Wells explained, seeing Caitlin's face fall at the mention of being used. "However, I believe you should be in charge of what you want to do. Leonard Snart is in Iron Heights..."

"I may be able to never look normal again because of him..." Caitlin stated, with realization that made Dr Wells smirk briefly. "But it's also Barry's fault too...he was always so careless and he never appreciated the fact that I care for him and look out for him. He also mocked Ronnie's memory. Barry would be dead if it wasn't for me. Then it's also Cisco's fault for not securing the ice gun a lot better. If it wasn't for Snart, Cisco's lack of security and Barry's recklessness...none of this would have happened."

Wells did not guarantee that bit he was pleased. Who knew there was a dark side in Caitlin Snow?

"You're right Caitlin," he pretended to be surprised and did it rather convincingly. "But Barry only wanted to save you."

Caitlin looked away from Wells, contemplating what he just said. Wells hoped Caitlin wouldn't form a vendetta against Barry; Barry needed to be alive and running.

"It's always about Barry," she hissed angrily, forming an ice crystal, holding it against Dr Wells' throat. "You praise Barry and he only just got struck by lightning. I've worked very hard for my position, I lost Ronnie...I never had the opportunity to have a life with him, now I find out Ronnie is alive and he doesn't remember who I am, you got disabled...exiled and since I work for you, I got shunned...you guys don't understand that pain but it's always about Barry. I've hidden my feelings for too long...it's time things change."

Dr Wells' widened his eyes in shock. With unexpected strength, Caitlin pushed his wheelchair back. Dr Wells looked back at Caitlin, in shock.

"Good bye Dr Wells."

* * *

><p>When Barry, Cisco, Richard and Roy arrived at STAR Labs and didn't see Caitlin, Dr Wells explained that Caitlin was feeling feverish and went home. Wells had removed the damaged computer and explained that it stopped working and he needed to replace it. The four didn't press any questions on Dr Wells, which secretly relieved him.<p>

Later when evening came, Barry came back to STAR Labs and quickly changed into his Flash costume. Roy and Richard were in their costumes respectively. Cisco grinned.

"You ready guys?" he asked, as he set the computer up and turned on the tracker.

The trio of heroes nodded.

"I'll see you at the warehouse," Flash sped off, in record speed.

"I'll never get used to that," Richard sighed.

Wells nodded in agreement while Cisco merely smiled.

"Imagine him carrying you and running at that speed," Roy spoke. "Anyway, let's go."

Arsenal and Richard ran to the car park where they parked their motorcycles. They drove off into the night.

* * *

><p>Flash kept a careful eye on the Merlyn Global warehouse. Nothing suspicious had happened so far. When Arsenal and Richard ran behind him, he didn't even turn around.<p>

"It doesn't look like your typical hideout," Flash mused. "No wonder Brick can't be found."

"You'd be able to sneak in a lot easier," Arsenal remarked. "Richard and I will go in via the roof."

"That sounds like a good plan," Richard nodded in agreement while Flash gave a thumbs up. "Do not engage a fight with Brick; he is Arsenal's target as well as mine."

Flash nodded. "I'm the reinforcement."

Flash sped off into the warehouse and immediately disappeared. It seemed he was getting faster.

Arsenal and Richard ran toward the warehouse, keeping low and out of sight. When they arrived closer to the warehouse, they ran to the side. Richard fired his grappling gun at the warehouse's roof while Arsenal fired an arrow at the roof. The duo began to climb up to the roof.

As soon as Flash zipped inside, he ran to the side and hid in the shadows. He observed his surroundings. There was quite a lot of thugs inside which was practically no problem for him since he was so fast.

The warehouse was huge. There were barely any lights on inside. The only lights that were on we're in the centre where the thugs stood. They were many old barrels and containments. They would serve as a useful cover. The warehouse wasn't a particularly tall building so Richard and Arsenal would have no problem getting in. Flash had memorized the blue prints; he knew every escape route and knew the warehouse was like a maze due to how the containments were placed.

Suddenly, a man stood in front of the thugs. He was enormous, over six foot and pure muscle. Flash looked at his own arms, feeling rather small and inferior to this hulk of a man. The man's beady eyes were like a beast's, looking excitedly at its prey. He grinned, his teeth a very pearly white. There was no doubt that this monster of a man was Brick. In the police pictures, he was smaller but now he was enormous. Next to Brick was his right hand man.

"I have to say one thing to you boys," Brick's voice boomed throughout the whole warehouse. "I really do like Central City; better locals, more opportunity..."

As Brick began talking on, Flash began to survey the area and plan out tactics.

Arsenal and Richard had climbed to the top of the roof. They looked down and saw Brick and his men. Arsenal immediately recognized Brick and clenched his fist. Richard knew that Arsenal wanted to get even with Brick, following their last encounter.

Before Richard could prepare anything, Arsenal broke the glass window, using his bow. The shards hit some of the thugs below and before they could react, Arsenal jumped down, landing on top of one thug, knocking him unconscious. Richard almost slapped himself but he decided to find a stealthy entrance.

"Well, look at this," Brick then frowned angrily at Arsenal. "Why do you always interfere?"

"I believe we have unfinished business," Arsenal smirked, grimly, with his bow ready and standing in a fighting stance.

"Take care of him boys."

The thugs charged toward Arsenal and he began to fight them off. He hit one in the head with his bow. Another thug was about to hit him when he narrowly ducked to avoid the hit. A blur rushed past Arsenal, knocking the thugs like dominos. Arsenal smiled when he saw Flash. Brick growled angrily.

He charged at Arsenal and Flash, causing the ground to shake. Flash sped out of the way to take care of more thugs while Arsenal performed a forward roll to get out of the way.

While Flash was fighting the thugs, Brick's right hand man was hiding in the shadows. He had his gun ready to fire at the Flash. However, Flash kept moving too fast for him to fire. Suddenly, Flash stopped to give a classic hand to hand fight. Before he could fire his gun, the man was knocked out with a lethal punch. Richard Dragon picked the gun up and threw it away. He joined the fight with Flash.

Arsenal joined Richard and Flash. Flash dodged the thug's punches and gave punches that were even harder. Richard sweep kicked a thug and when he got up, he head butted into another thug and gave the same thug a firm back kick to his abdomen. The thug fell over. Arsenal side kicked a thug, the kick aiming at the lower leg. This caused the thug to stumble over. Another thug sneaked a hit at Arsenal but he quickly recovered and hit the thug back even harder.

Brick observed the fight. He couldn't believe he hired weaklings. He sighed.

Flash had punched the last thug in the face. The trio smiled at their handiwork and then faced Brick.

Brick cracked his knuckles, prepared for a good fight.

He ran to the trio who were prepared themselves. Flash dodged his punch. Arsenal jumped to the side and performed an open hand strike at Brick's neck. Brick stumbled a little but due to his enhanced strength, he quickly recovered and sent Arsenal hurling to the wall.

Richard sweep kicked Brick, who fell over. Flash repeatedly and quickly punched Brick in the face.

Flash felt Brick's strength and saw that his face was not affected by the multiple speed punches. Brick grinned wickedly at Flash, who looked very worried. Richard also looked worried.

"That tickled."

Flash sped away from Brick.

Arsenal got up and felt a sharp pain in his leg. He was able to move, had got him good, again. This was rather embarrassing.

Flash and Richard attacked Brick simultaneously. Richard elbowed Brick in the face and went right in front of Brick to do multiple strikes close range. Brick didn't move. Flash sped around Brick, punching at multiple angles. Brick moved a little due to the speed, Flash was punching at.

Ultimately, it did no good. Brick was rigid as ever.

"Just give up!" Brick snarled, his timing was perfect as he grabbed Flash by the leg and hurled him to where Arsenal was recovering.

"I thought my speed would do something," Flash sighed. "The last guy I encountered with super strength was made of metal though..."

Although Richard was holding his ground against Brick, he wasn't doing any kind of damage at all. Richard retreated from Brick. Brick then lay his eyes toward Arsenal and Flash.

_Dr Wells had insisted that he spoke to Roy in private. Everyone else exited the room. Caitlin was still on the bed in her comatose condition. It was very quiet without everyone else in the room._

_"I assumed you didn't hate your father and I shouldn't have assumed," Wells apologized, with a serious look._

_"It's alright Dr Wells," Roy didn't really care at all to be honest._

_"If Danny Brickwell has the strength of ten men, you might want these," Dr Wells gave Roy a few different looking arrows._

_Roy looked at the arrows curiously._

_"I call them trick arrows," Wells smiled. "This one with an orange tip is an explosive arrow. As soon as it hits its target, it explodes. This one with a black tip shoots out a net when in contact with your target. This one with a pale tip shoots out polyeutherane foam when in contact with your target. The foam is quite strong."_

_"Why did you make them?" Roy was puzzled._

_"Since we have some sort of correspondence with your team, I was leaving them for Oliver...but he's no longer here, so they're yours."_

"I have an idea," Arsenal spoke to Flash.

Flash looked to Arsenal with curiosity. He nodded as Arsenal began to whisper to him. Flash jumped up, mentally thanking God that he could heal quickly. Flash ran near to Brick, smiling cockily.

"Ugly! Over here!" Brick stopped fighting Richard and glared at Flash.

"Not so fast Speedy Gonzales," Brick began to run toward Flash, who stood until Brick was right in front of him.

As Brick was about to grab Flash, Flash zoomed away. Brick chased him. As Brick was about to leave the lighted area of the warehouse, an arrow was fired at him in the chest. It exploded and the sudden force caused him to fall back.

Arsenal stepped out from the shadows with a smirk.

"You!"

Brick ran toward Arsenal. With impeccable timing, Roy jumped over Brick, who crashed into one of the containments. As Brick was recovering, Arsenal fired another explosive arrow. Brick stumbled onto the floor. Before he could move, Arsenal fired two arrows simultaneously. As soon as the arrows made contact with Brick, the polyeutherane foam encased Brick.

Brick was red with rage.

"You won't get away with this Arsenal!" he shrieked.

"I just did," Arsenal smirked.

Richard began to call A.R.G.U.S. Brick gritted his teeth in anger while Flash smiled.

"We make a pretty good team," Flash spoke to Arsenal.

"I agree," Arsenal nodded. "We've got to wait until A.R.G.U.S gets here, just in case Brick might escape."

* * *

><p>Caitlin was going through her clothing. She knew that black leather jumpsuit was around here somewhere. It was one of her friend's crazy ideas but right now, it seemed useful. She cut the sleeves of the jumpsuit. It looked better and she wanted to move her arms a lot better. She grabbed a pair of her favorite black boots and slipped them on after the jumpsuit.<p>

In many shows and comics, women were sexualized. Caitlin didn't want to be like that.

She looked down at her hands. The power of ice was quite interesting. Caitlin began to experiment what she could. She formed a large ice shard from her hand. Next, her room began to snow when she waved both hands around. She smiled. Snow and ice. A perfect combination.

On her bed, lay the cold and heat gun. It was time Leonard Snart and Mick Rory deserved a taste of their own medicine. Caitlin grinned, for what felt like the first time in ages; she couldn't wait. At first it was her feeling scared for her life, feeling weak and with Leonard and Mick taunting her that she would live her last moments. Now with these powers, she wasn't weak. People would use her as well but it had occurred before, especially regarding her intelligence but it would be worse this time due to her powers. Still, it could be a bittersweet thank you to Leonard Snart.

* * *

><p>Leonard Snart sat in his cell, wearing an orange jumpsuit. He didn't move or do anything. He was just waiting for the perfect opportunity; there was always the opportunity to escape. He had been housed in some of the toughest prisons in the state and he has escaped all of them.<p>

Leonard had only talked to one guy other than Mick in the prison. The man was in the cell directly opposite Leonard's. The guy's name was Henry Allen; accused of murdering his wife. Leonard almost scoffed at the accusation because Henry was the most kindest man he had ever met and was like a father figure in a sense. But who knew what people could be capable of.

A guard came walking to his cell and began to unlock. Leonard was rather curious. He stood up. The guard stood back but then someone knocked him in the back of the head, rendering the guard unconscious.

Behind the guard stood a young woman. Her hair, eyes and lips were an icy blue. Her skin was as pale as snow. She wore a sleeveless leather jumpsuit and black boots. She was rather pretty.

"Don't recognize me Snart?" her tone was icy as well but very recognizable; it was Caitlin Snow, the bio engineer from STAR Labs.

"I recognize you now; I didn't think you'd survive the cold gun," truth be told, he was rather curious what the cold gun had exactly done to Caitlin.

"That's a bit unfortunate for you," Caitlin held the cold gun out, which was ready for fire. "I might just kill you with the very weapon you used to create me."

"I don't think you have the heart to kill someone Miss Snow," Snart didn't take her threat seriously.

"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't have come to break you and your friend out of prison," Caitlin's voice was slightly angry in tone, she gestured to Mick. "Who knew his obsession would be his end."

"I don't see the need for this Miss Snow," Leonard was rather calm. "You don't look terrible; it's not like I've turned you into a monster."

Leonard was impressed by her lengths. Mick didn't look so pleased; he always wanted favor to on his side and it helped with the heat gun.

"You really don't know what people are like," Caitlin retorted.

Sirens were wailing in the prison, alerting the staff of a break in. Caitlin bit her lip in frustration. Why did she waste her time talking? She could have just killed him with no warning.

"As unfortunate as circumstances are, Mick and I are your only chances of help. You really don't want to be in prison Miss Snow. I recommend you hand our guns-"

"You have given me the power of snow and ice; I don't need your help!" Caitlin snarled.

Leonard found that rather interesting. Mick did too.

"Miss Snow, it's better we work together because we're outnumbered here. I don't think you can fathom taking a life; you didn't kill that guard," Leonard reasoned; he had seen something in Caitlin's eyes before he shot her. It was unlike of what he had seen in the eyes of other hostages. It seemed she was asking him to take her life.

Caitlin was weighing her options. She could hear voices of the guards and the sirens seemed to be getting louder. It was very true that she would be outnumbered. She was intelligent and not an idiot. If she fought on her own, she'd probably wouldn't be able to escape and the authorities would call on the Flash. Heck, she didn't even know her capabilities. She didn't need Barry to lecture her about anything. She was one of STAR Labs' brightest. She didn't need a forensic scientist to lecture her about anything especially loss. She knew the whole story. If Caitlin let Snart and Rory have their guns, the trio would be able to bust out of prison more easily. Snart was pretty good with shooting and had stopped the Flash. Rory was a pyromaniac and just plain dangerous; fire by itself was a danger.

"Here," Caitlin passed the cold gun to Leonard and passed the heat gun to Mick.

Mick Rory grinned like a madman. He looked as if he were reunited with a long lost love. The guards entered the room. Leonard smiled as he wielded the cold gun.

"Put your hands up!" he guard has his gun ready to fire."

Outstretching her hands in front of her, Caitlin created a thick wall of ice. On the other side, the guards were clearly shocked.

"What the-?"

Ome if the guards stood back and fired his gun. The shot narrowly missed Caitlin because Leonard forced Caitlin to duck.

"Should I almost thank you for saving my life?" she asked as Leonard, Mick and herself began to crouch low and quickly crawl away.

"Not until we make our escape," Leonard hissed.

When they got to the end of the hall, Mick stood up and fired his heat gun at the very first guard that came in front of him. The guard howled in pain as his face was burning. Mick grinned while Leonard walked past him. Caitlin looked at the man with an apologetic look before following the villainous duo.

A few guards stood in front of the trio. Leonard immediately fired his ice gun at them. They fell to the ground, limp, frozen and dead.

They made a left turn and entered a room. There was all sorts of equipment, cluttered inside. It was a complete mess.

"What's this room?" Caitlin asked.

"This is where the warden put our suits," Mick Rory asnwered, with clear disdain toward the warden as he began to search the room.

Leonard's infamous blue parka and goggles were nearly hung up due to the fact they were clothes. Mick's heat suit was nearby. It was an ugly yellow in colour and Cailtin looked at it with disdain.

"I'll wait outside."

Less than a minute later, Captain Cold and Heatwave emerged from the room. Then...there was just Caitlin. Caitlin knew she would have to think of an alias...Ice Queen? No, she sounded like someone entering a beauty pageant. Snow Queen? A bit too Frozen. Maybe now wasn't the time for aliases.

The trio began to run. A couple more guards appered. Caitlin conjured shards of ice from her hands. She threw them as if they were darts, not particularly aiming them anywhere. Funnily enough, she was quite good with darts back at high school. The first shard hit a guard in the leg and he collapsed to the floor. The second shard hit a guard in the arm. The last shard pierced a guard's shoulder.

Caitlin felt guilt but it felt good to experiment what she could do.

The exit to the prison was nearby. Outside the prison, police from both the SCPD and CCPD were waiting behind their cars, with guns drawn and ready.

"Time to surrender! You're outnumbered!" Captain Lance called out, who was standing alongside Joe West.

Captain Cold and Heatwave sighed. They knew defeat and this was defeat. They couldn't hope to match the police who also outgunned them. Caitlin clenched her fist. She wasn't going to be taken to prison. Sure, she aided some criminals but she wanted to kill them. She didn't need to be scolded like a child.

At the back, Caitlin saw that the Flash and Arsenal had arrived at the scene. Flash immediately recognized her. He sped to where Captain Lance and where Joe was as Arsenal made his way through the crowd of police. Flash looked at Caitlin.

"Why are you doing this Caitlin?" he asked sincerely.

"I was going to kill Snart and Rory for what they did to me," she icily hissed much to the shock of Snart and Rory themselves.

"What happened was totally unexpected but we can help you," Flash answered. "Please Caitlin."

"Don't go with the pathetic please," Caitlin retorted. "You think you've had it hard but I've had it worse; childhood until now. Recently, before all this, I thought I could have a life...and be happy."

"I can help-"

Caitlin cut Flash off by firing ice at him. He narrowly ducked. Before the police could shoot, Caitlin raised her arms in the air and outstretched her hands. Clouds congregated in the sky. A strong gale blew in the air, causing some of the police to take refuge in their cars. Snow began to rapidly fall. The temperature rapidly dropped. Arsenal shivered and took shelter by Captain Lance's car.

Caitlin then looked at Flash. He looked back at her. He ran toward her; she had to stop this. Caitlin didn't want to do this but Flash didn't understand and he would try to bring her in. She fired a shard of ice. Flash effortlessly dodged it. The shard was so fast that it embedded into the chest of a police officer.

The police officer fell down and began to cough. She was trembling. Flash turned around and then looked at Caitlin in shock. The police officer stopped coughing and looked up at the sky, the life drained out of her.

"Well done Frosty!" Mick Rory grinned, breaking the silence and giving Caitlin a friendly slap on the back. "You committed your first murder."

"I-I didn't mean it," Caitlin ignored Mick and looked at Flash, pleadingly. "It was supposed to injure you, not kill her."

Caitlin knew she had lost it. Flash wasn't sure what to do. Caitlin Snow was his friend but this person, who remarkably resembled her was nothing like the Caitlin he knew. Caitlin surprisingly felt no remorse; everyone told her she was distant but she had no idea of the extent of that distance.

"I have to bring you in Caitlin," Flash spoke. "Those guys too."

Caitlin raised her hand up, ice ready to shoot at Flash. She wasn't Caitlin anymore. CaitLin Snow would not have killed a police officer or injure her friend. Mick had called her Frosty. She was a killer. Killer Frosty? Nope, that sounded so lame. Killer Frost? That sounded a lot better.

"I'm not Caitlin Snow anymore Flash," Caitlin responded, remorse was evident but she did respect her friend. "It's Killer Frost."

Without warning, Killer Frost fired at Flash, the ray was similar to what was in the cold gun. Flash couldn't move. The blizzard was even stronger and more snow fell. Within seconds, Arsenal couldn't see a thing. He could barely see Killer Frost leaving with Captain Cold and Heatwave. However, he had to see if Flash was okay. Arsenal began to trudge where his friend had fallen in the snow.

* * *

><p>When the trio had gotten far from Iron Heights, they began to slow down. They were in the quiet outskirts of Central City. They dumped the car they stole to drive away from the prison amd began to walk to Central City Captain Cold and Heatwave looked impressed at Killer Frost.<p>

"Well done and nice name," Captain Cold remarked.

"You gave me my powers," Killer Frost responded and then looked out to the city; she didn't know how Ronnie would react but why did it matter? He had no memory of her anyway. "I have nowhere to go."

"You need more experience in the business," Mick said, looking at his heat gun. "Hang around with us for a little while and see how you go."

Captain Cold nodded with agreement to Mick's suggestion.

"Alright," Killer Frost answered.

* * *

><p>In the morning, it was all gloom at STAR Labs. The team felt the loss of Caitlin; they were all like family. Earlier, A.R.G.U.S dropped by and agreed that Daniel Brickwell should be incarcerated in the prison under STAR Labs for meta humans. Roy and Richard left with the A.R.G.U.S agent. Now, it was just Barry, Cisco and Dr Wells.<p>

Barry leaned against the wall.

"I can't believe I failed to help Caitlin," he sighed, clearly upset that he didn't save the day, that he didn't save his friend.

Wells moved his wheelchair closer to where Barry stood. He gave Barry a stern look.

"Barry...you can't save everyone," Wells told the truth, as brutal as it was. "We don't want to face the truth but we have to."

"Caitlin's always bottled up her feelings," Cisco admitted. "She never wanted to open up and you can't force someone to open up."

"It's like she became a different person," Barry spoke.

"I don't think Caitlin has changed," Wells spoke, he has been in clear thought the whole morning. "I think Caitlin's always been like this. When something major happens, like getting powers...Caitlin couldn't hide her emotions anymore. She feels free when she has this...Killer Frost persona."

Barry and Cisco nodded, understanding what Dr Wells meant. Wells' phone suddenly began to ring. He looked at the caller ID and was rather surprised. Perhaps, it was the best for a private call He looked at Barry and Cisco apologetically before going outside the room to take the call.

Barry and Cisco remained inside the room. As soon as Wells was away from where Barry and Cisco could eavesdrop, he answered the phone.

"Hello Mr Wayne," he spoke, acting surprised.

"Hello Dr Wells," Bruce Wayne responded. "I haven't caught you at a bad time, have I?"

"No, your timing is impeccable," Wells commented.

Wells could particularly care less about Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy and philanthropist of Gotham. Wells had met Wayne a few times and was rather disgusted by his immaturity but that was quite a few years ago. Perhaps Wayne changed.

"Ray Palmer of Palmer Technologies contacted me recently about the rise of super powered humans. We both share the concern of the safety of the world's citizens, regarding the super powered criminals," Bruce explained. "Ray Palmer and I were wondering if you would support the project to contain these lethal super criminals."

Wells paused for a moment. In fact, it was a brilliant idea. He could only smile. He sat up in his wheelchair.

"I support your project Mr Wayne," Dr Wells answered, with no hesitation. "The only inquiry I have is...what is the project called?"

"Belle Reve."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**Wow! This was a lot bigger than intended.**

**A lot of you guys liked the inclusion of how Caitlin gets her powers in the previous chapter. So, I decided to show her becoming Killer Frost. In the comics, three women took the identity of Killer Frost: Crystal Frost, Louise Lincoln and Caitlin Snow. As for the Caitlin Snow version, the Flash is Caitlin's only appearance outside the comics. Her powers in the comics are a bit different to what I have here. In the DC animated series or movies, Killer Frost is Crystal Frost or Louise Lincoln. These two characters wear the skin tight leotard whereas the Caitlin Snow version wears some kind of black leather suit like Catwoman but with no sleeves. The way Caitlin is portrayed in the Flash, I can't imagine her wearing a skin tight leotard. **

**Is Caitlin friend or foe? I imagine that she's in between. She's not a good person completely but she didn't reveal Flash's identity. A rabdom fact: in Frozen, Elsa was originally supposed to be the villain (Frozen was inspired by the Snow Queen, which was written by Hans Christian Anderson). In fact, that would have been very interesting.**

**As for the two warriors talking to Ra's, they are actual members of the League of Assassins in the comics. You can guess who they are until I name them later. **

**Sara was killed by three arrows but Felicity gave Caitlin one arrow to analyze. I imagine Laurel had the other two. Sage can't solve the case without a lead of some kind.**

**This ends the crossover with the Flash. I hope you guys enjoyed it and liked Caitlin's transformation to Killer Frost. Have a nice day.**


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